Unit Prepares Fallen Troops for the Journey Home
TAQADDUM, Iraq — It is, one Marine said, like watching a brother die every day.
As the U.S. military death toll mounts in Iraq, the trauma on the overall force is softened by the fact that the fallen troops come from different battalions and different companies. In a force of 30,000 Marines, for example, only a few will be able to say they knew someone who died.
But for the 20 members of the Marine mortuary affairs unit in this former Iraqi air base west of Baghdad, each person lost to combat or accident becomes a personal memory as they gather the body parts at the scene, sift through possessions and prepare the often mangled body for shipment back to the United States.
Speed is of the essence. The Marine Corps wants the body on a flight to Dover Air Force Base in Maryland before the family gets the fateful knock on the door by casualty assistance officers.
The unit, stationed at a base run by the 1st Force Service Support Group from Camp Pendleton, mobilizes within 20 minutes of notification to speed to the scene of a military death anywhere in the Al Anbar province, the heart of the so-called Sunni Triangle.
"We want to get that kid off the ground as soon as possible," said Chief Warrant Officer James Patterson, who runs the mortuary unit. The Marine Corps runs a second mortuary unit at a base 100 miles north of here, and the Army has one in Baghdad.
In two months, the Taqaddum unit has sent 56 dead Americans home to their relatives. Six dead Iraqis also have been identified and turned over to their families.
The emotional wear and tear is considerable. Some members have asked to be transferred out of the unit; some have been ordered back to the United States by Navy doctors.
Getting to the scenes can also be dangerous. At least twice, members of the unit have had to fight their way past insurgents to recover bodies.
Training for the unit included duty at morgues in Baltimore and Washington. Members say it was worthwhile, but it did not prepare them for the trauma of seeing dead comrades so frequently.
"It's different when it's someone who looks like you, is your age and rank and is wearing the same uniform," said Lance Cpl. Garth Troeschen, 23, of Brandywine, Md.
"It reminds you of your own mortality and that you're in a combat zone," said Cpl. Daniel Cotnoir, 31, of Lawrence, Mass. "You look down, and it's a Marine who traveled the same road as you but wasn't as lucky."
