WHEN OUR FALLEN WARRIORS GET TO DOVER

By Steve Straub

There are the heroes we know and there are the unseen heroes who ensure those fallen warriors who have given the last full measure of devotion are honored to the last moment — their final resting.

This is truly a brotherhood and sisterhood many will never understand. There is nothing to add to this story except tears.

Our fallen warriors are flown back to the U.S. on a cargo jet that takes them to Dover Air Force Base, Del. Upon arrival, a very specific process is followed.

A team of service members wearing white gloves goes to the aircraft on the tarmac and carries the coffins, covered with flags, to a white van that takes them to the Armed Forces Medical Examiner.

The remains are then washed, hands are scrubbed clean, and hair is shampooed. If necessary, bones are wired together, and damaged tissue is reconstructed with flesh-toned wax.

Sometimes they will use photos, sometimes just intuition to recreate the wrinkles in faces, and the lines around the mouth or the corner of the eyes. “It has to look normal, like someone who is sleeping.”

Once the body is ready, the uniform is prepared. That includes putting medals in the proper order on the ribbon rack above the jacket’s breast pocket.
During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 10 to 20 Fallen Heroes were arriving every day.

The embalmers often worked all night to get the Heroes home on time. That can take an emotional toll, so the mortuary has a large gym where workers can go to blow off steam.

Many say they are haunted by how young the fallen soldiers are, and by how many of them leave behind small children. That’s why, says SSgt. Miguel Deynes, they are advised not to do research into the backgrounds of the soldiers. “If I knew the story of every individual who went through here, I would probably be in a padded cell.”

The dress uniform being prepared in this particular case will be in a closed casket. Even so, it will be perfectly tailored, starched, and pressed. Everything will be checked down to the last detail.

“They’re [the family] not going to see it," Sergeant Deynes says. "I do it for myself. It’s more than an honor it’s a blessing to dress that soldier for the last time.”

PHOTOS: (1) In this behind-the-scenes picture taken on 27 April 2013 at Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies of fallen service members are prepared for burial, SSgt. Miguel Deynes prepares a uniform for Capt. Aaron Blanchard, an army pilot who was killed in Afghanistan. (2) William Zwicharowski, the Dover Port Mortuary branch chief and a former Marine, left, helps SSgt. Miguel Deynes prepare the dress uniform for Capt. Aaron Blanchard, an army pilot killed in Afghanistan. (3) SSgt. Miguel Deynes selects a dress uniform for Capt. Aaron Blanchard, an army pilot killed in Afghanistan. At the Dover Port Mortuary, where service members' bodies are brought to be prepared for funerals, no detail is too small--even if the coffin will be closed or the body is slated for cremation. (4) Staff Sgt. Deynes selects ribbons for Captain Blanchard's dress uniform. (5) Staff Sgt. Deynes prepares Captain Blanchard's dress uniform. (6) Staff Sgt. Deynes makes final adjustments to Captain Blanchard's dress uniform. Photos by Ashley Gilbertson/The New York Times.