http://www.washingtonpost.com/world.....bdO_story.html

The US Air Force - or at least, senior officials in it - have committed a huge act of disrespect to fallen military by disposing of their cremated remains in a Virginia landfill. This wasn't a couple of privates screwing up, either; this went on for three or four years. Furthermore, some mid-to-senior level officials knew about it, because there were efforts made to block inquiries into the whereabouts of remains by their relatives.

I don't generally like to share RL, but I've previously mentioned this; I am, in RL, in the Royal Canadian Navy. Canada and America have been allies for a long time now, and our respective armies, navies and air forces work closely; we are, in many respects, brothers and sisters in arms. So when I read this article, I could not believe, at first, that something like this could happen to the remains of soldiers, sailors and airmen and women. I feel as though someone, somewhere, has flung dirt in the faces of everyone who has ever stood up to defend their nation, and it makes me sick to my stomach that, from what I read in the article, this wasn't brought to light until recently. I realize the investigation and such by the Washington Post was done before this date, but there is a horrible kind of symmetry when you realize the article date is December 7th, the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbour and the deaths of thousands of US military personnel.

Please, if you are American and outraged by this, do contact your representatives and your senators and let them know. Your voices will carry much more weight than those of outraged non-Americans - though I would ask anyone who thinks this is a gross injustice to the memories of these fallen and their families to write as well. They deserve better than to have their remains treated as trash.