• AFMAO remembers sacrifice of 9/11 victims, war fallen during anniversary

    This week, the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, gives us reason for remembrance and reflection on the terrible events of that day and the lives lost, as well as pause to consider its effects in the 19 years since. The attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and

  • Sacred mission: Pilots bring fallen heroes home

    Three planes sit on a small section of the runway at Dover Air Force Base and help fulfill the wing's motto: "Deliver!"They aren't the typical big cargo planes like the C-17 Globemaster or the C-5 Galaxy people are accustomed to seeing on the runway here. The Falcons, although smaller in size, have

  • Sacred job at mortuary an honor, dream come true for Lance Cpl.

    Lance Cpl. Landon Beaty didn't join the Marines to sit behind a desk."My job for the Marine Corps is amphibious assault vehicle crewman ," said Beaty. "Long story short -- I drive a big tank."Less than two years after enlisting, Beaty found himself volunteering for a job he felt was meant for him, a

  • Memories of 9/11 resonate with Dover Port Mortuary staff

    A decade ago less than a dozen people worked in a modest building that sat on a few acres of land behind the fence at the end of Atlantic Avenue.That's how William Zwicharowski described the facility where the solemn duty of honoring the fallen was performed. Zwicharowski, an embalmer at the time,

  • Navy enlisted morticians offer unique perspective

    Navy morticians belong to a career field so small, most people don't even know it exists. Yet the job they do - providing dignity, honor and respect for fallen servicemembers - is important, especially for the families of those fallen.Hospital Corpsman Chief William Montague, one of just 15 enlisted

  • Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations honors America's Fallen

    In December 2008, Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations was created at Dover Air Force Base, Del., to organize the Air Force's mortuary affairs programs into a streamlined unit for Air Force families and Air Force leadership and create a single chain of command for the operation of the Port Mortuary

  • Radiologist's off-duty time spent as bug collector extraordinaire

    While many people spend money and effort keeping creepy crawlers away, one Air Force officer actually goes out and seeks them. On any given night, you might find Lt. Col. Geoffrey Crawley outdoors with a flashlight and bait turning over rocks and searching among the weeds, hunting for another insect

  • Quilts of Valor a comfort for complex wartime emotions

    In 2003 Catherine Roberts, a midwife by profession and quilter for 25 years from Seaford, wanted to give a wounded soldier a quilt to bring him comfort during his recovery. "We are a nation at war," said Ms. Roberts. "Warriors need something tangible, a physical representation of love, support and

  • Caring for those who care for the fallen, their families

    "Dignity, honor, respect for the fallen ... Care, service, support for their families," this is the mantra of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center and for the men and women who work here it is at the heart of what they do. The unique work takes a lot out of a person physically,