Dover team serves to honor fallen heroes

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Dustin Hart
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AFPN) --  With the arrival of remains from Operation Iraqi Freedom, the honor guard is performing more than its usual duties.

Besides providing military funeral honors, honor guard airmen, working with the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), bring the remains to the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs here.

"It is a job that we never like to do," said Tech. Sgt. Maurice Mack, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the honor guard. "But that is the nature of the business we are in, and it is a job that we do with the highest amount of dignity for our fellow servicemembers."

The honor guard provides one or two teams of eight members as needed Mack said. When an aircraft brings remains to Dover, Mack and an officer representative explain to the aircrew how the transfer will take place. They then make final preparations to the transfer cases, including making sure each is draped with an American flag.

A chaplain and a senior commander then board the plane, and the chaplain says a prayer. After the prayer, the honor guard carries each case to vehicles that will carry the remains to the mortuary.

Mack, who was a member of the Presidential Honor Guard at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C., from 1988 to 1990, said the detail can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the amount of cases.

"Each time we transfer cases, it's different," Mack said. "But every time I step onto the plane, I get chill bumps."

There is a great sense of pride because it gives the honor guard a chance to pay its final respects to troops who made the ultimate sacrifice, he said.

"It's definitely sad, but you can't show emotion when you are out there," said Airman 1st Class Chris Arthur, who has been an honor guard member for one year. "You are out there to do the job and show the respect that these fallen troops deserve."

"The transfers are very serious because we realize that this ... could be us one day," said Airman 1st Class Rickie Jones, another honor guard member. (Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service)