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Pentagon calls for crematory standards
One of two it had contracts with also does pet cremation
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Published: May 10, 2008
Washington - Washington - The Pentagon is recommending changes in the handling of the remains of military personnel after it was reported that a crematorium contracted by the military handles human and animal cremations.
A military official said there have been no instances or charges that human and pet remains were mixed. But officials are now recommending that the remains of military personnel be incinerated only at crematoriums that cremate humans only, in order to avoid any appearance of a problem. Or, officials said, families can have a relative's remains sent to a local funeral home for cremation, which would be paid for by the military.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates believed that the earlier situation was "insensitive and entirely inappropriate for the dignified treatment of our fallen," said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
"Our heroes deserve to be better treated than that," Morrell said, adding that a sign at one of the crematoriums said it also does pet cremations. He said that Gates offered an apology to military families for the insensitivity.
Morrell said that there is "absolutely no evidence whatsoever at this point that any human remains were at all ever mistreated, or ever not cremated where they were supposed to be cremated. That said, the secretary believes that is it inappropriate, even if permissible under the rules and regulations, to cremate our fallen, our heroes, in a facility that also cremates pets."
The Dover Air Force Base Port Mortuary, where all troops' remains arrive from the battlefield, does not have its own crematorium, so it contracts with two funeral homes for the cremations: Torbert Funeral Chapel and Pippens Funeral Home.
Pippens' crematorium is at the funeral home and is used only for human remains, whereas Torbert's has incinerators for human and animal remains.
Although most crematoriums do not advertise the fact that they handle human and animal remains, there is a sign near the Torbert crematory advertising the "Friends Forever Pet Cremation Service."
Officials said that there are three incinerators at the Torbert crematorium. Two are used for humans and one is used for pets. The human and pet crematoriums are about 20 feet apart.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, the Air Force staff director, told Pentagon reporters that it is not uncommon for crematoriums to provide both services.
Klotz said the issue came to light yesterday when an officer who works in the Pentagon went to Dover to pay respects to a fallen comrade who was being cremated. The soldier noticed the pet-cremations sign, and was concerned about it.
The officer alerted senior officials at the Pentagon, who notified Capitol Hill and quickly put together the policy changes.
Bill Torbert, the president of Torbert Funeral Chapel, said that a representative from Dover Air Force Base visited a crematory run by his company earlier this week but was satisfied that nothing was amiss. Torbert said that the human and pet crematories are in adjoining buildings on the same property and have separate entrances.
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