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Seabees Work With Iraqis to Provide Proper Burial for Mass Grave Victims
Story Number: NNS031009-03
Release Date: 10/9/2003 2:15:00 PM
By Lt. j.g. Joshua A. Frey, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs
MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- In the effort to reunite Iraqis with their loved ones executed by Saddam Hussein, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force’s (I MEF) Engineer Group (MEG) Seabees answered the call during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
Once it became apparent that Saddam Hussein had fallen from power, Iraqi Shiites went to a location in Al Hillah they knew to be a mass grave for thousands of Iraqis.
Their intent was to recover the remains of their loved ones who had disappeared during the violence in a Shiite uprising after the end of Operation Desert Storm. Once relatives had identified the remains, the Seabees were asked for help to create a dignified burial place for the victims.
“My first thoughts were that this was evidence of mass destruction, very similar to the feeling you get when you go to Dachau or Bergen-Belsen,” said Capt. Albert Garcia, the deputy commander of the I MEF/MEG. “At that point, I think we fully realized the importance of our mission.”
“Twelve years later, they had not forgotten this," said Lt. Jeff Gerken, officer in charge of the Air Detachment, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 15. “They were still scared of Saddam. The people who first went there were very brave.”
The governor of southern Iraq appointed an Iraqi neurologist to lead the effort to recover the victims’ bodies. In May, he went to I MEF for help and they didn’t hesitate. The Marines initially provided security for the site, as well as shade and water to the families digging for their loved ones. Some 3,860 sets of remains were recovered, of which 3,000 were identified. Eight hundred-sixty sets of remains were unclaimed. When the Iraqis were finished, the doctor came and asked for help reburying the victims. The Marines called the Seabees.
“The locals were crying and wailing. One woman passed out. It was awful,” said Gerken. “I drew a parallel to World War II G.I.s when they came across the concentration camps. First you think, ‘How could this happen?’ then you think, ‘What can I do to help these people?’"
“What the locals wanted was to recover their loved ones and bury their remains,” said Garcia. “It was the right thing to do.”
“At first they asked us to cover the holes left by the initial digging, so we brought in backhoes. That process alone uncovered more bodies,” said Garcia. “We found baby shoes, skulls that had been cut with chainsaws, many had been buried alive. Entire families were executed. We heard from the locals that after a point, it was just people being rounded up and executed at a rate of 900 a day.”
The Seabees dug burial plots under exact specifications according to Islamic tradition. The Iraqis buried their dead and held a private Muslim ceremony. Clear plastic bags were placed on top of the graves of 860 unclaimed bodies with items that could help identify them. The work at the Al Hillah burial site was completed May 28.
“They asked for help and we provided an engineering solution,” said Gerken. “It is now a respectful place for burial.”
For related news, visit the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/ Commander, 5th Fleet Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/cusnc.
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