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CNN Live Sunday
The Final Stop
Aired June 01, 2003 - 18:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's been a deadly week for U.S. forces in Iraq. Eleven soldiers have been killed either in combat or in accidents since last Sunday, 11. Their bodies will be brought back to Dover, Delaware, home to the military's only stateside mortuary. Kathleen Koch reports now on the time-honored traditions followed in preparing America's war dead for their long journey home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): March 25, AC-10 carries to Dover Air Force base the first military war dead from Iraq. Behind these doors, the mortuary staff of seven swells to 160 as the fighting intensifies. The staff begins and ends each day with a prayer in this room, the walls decorating with patriotic murals from local high schools. Emotions run the gamut.
MAJ. JEFF YOCUM, DOVER AFB: It means so much and is so rewarding. And it's so meaningful and so honorable. And other folks have a difficult time with it, as you could imagine.
KOCH: Especially painful is handling the items soldiers had with them.
WILLIAM ZWICHAROWSKI, ACTING MORTUARY DIRECTOR: With personal effects, you can't ignore the fact that you see this pictures of family members, of children, a half-written letter, for instance, that you almost want to finish for them.
KOCH: More than 50,000 U.S. war dead have begun a long journey home here. Victims of other tragedies too, as noted on a plaque inside the mortuary. The astronauts killed in the Challenger and Columbia accidents. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, who died in an overseas plane crash. Particularly difficult, says the director, are the dead from the 9/11 Pentagon attack.
ZWICHAROWSKI: We had civilians, we had children, we had terrorists. So yes, we had feelings that -- and experiences that are out of the norm for us.
KOCH: Preparations for each arrival include training escorts in handling caskets and draping flags. A uniform room is stocked with guidebooks and hundreds of decorations and insignias to ensure the dead are buried in proper military attire.
ZWICHAROWSKI: The Marine Corps, the Army Rangers are very, very specific and very particular about their uniforms. And they'll notice by walking in a room if something is right or wrong.
KOCH: The work goes on as U.S. deaths in Iraq continue. It's a military operation, but those involved insist they are working foremost for the families.
ZWICHAROWSKI: There is a lot of proud parents out there, and we're working for them. We want to return their sons, daughters home as quickly as possible.
KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Dover Air Force base.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 1, 2003 - 18:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's been a deadly week for U.S. forces in Iraq. Eleven soldiers have been killed either in combat or in accidents since last Sunday, 11. Their bodies will be brought back to Dover, Delaware, home to the military's only stateside mortuary. Kathleen Koch reports now on the time-honored traditions followed in preparing America's war dead for their long journey home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): March 25, AC-10 carries to Dover Air Force base the first military war dead from Iraq. Behind these doors, the mortuary staff of seven swells to 160 as the fighting intensifies. The staff begins and ends each day with a prayer in this room, the walls decorating with patriotic murals from local high schools. Emotions run the gamut.
MAJ. JEFF YOCUM, DOVER AFB: It means so much and is so rewarding. And it's so meaningful and so honorable. And other folks have a difficult time with it, as you could imagine.
KOCH: Especially painful is handling the items soldiers had with them.
WILLIAM ZWICHAROWSKI, ACTING MORTUARY DIRECTOR: With personal effects, you can't ignore the fact that you see this pictures of family members, of children, a half-written letter, for instance, that you almost want to finish for them.
KOCH: More than 50,000 U.S. war dead have begun a long journey home here. Victims of other tragedies too, as noted on a plaque inside the mortuary. The astronauts killed in the Challenger and Columbia accidents. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, who died in an overseas plane crash. Particularly difficult, says the director, are the dead from the 9/11 Pentagon attack.
ZWICHAROWSKI: We had civilians, we had children, we had terrorists. So yes, we had feelings that -- and experiences that are out of the norm for us.
KOCH: Preparations for each arrival include training escorts in handling caskets and draping flags. A uniform room is stocked with guidebooks and hundreds of decorations and insignias to ensure the dead are buried in proper military attire.
ZWICHAROWSKI: The Marine Corps, the Army Rangers are very, very specific and very particular about their uniforms. And they'll notice by walking in a room if something is right or wrong.
KOCH: The work goes on as U.S. deaths in Iraq continue. It's a military operation, but those involved insist they are working foremost for the families.
ZWICHAROWSKI: There is a lot of proud parents out there, and we're working for them. We want to return their sons, daughters home as quickly as possible.
KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Dover Air Force base.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
