{"id":70537,"date":"2019-06-09T17:23:05","date_gmt":"2019-06-09T17:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:54:03","slug":"my-life-among-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"My life among the dead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note:<\/b> The following is an excerpt from the book \u201cFallen Among U.S.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 18, 2016<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I LANDED IN PHILADELPHIA and was scheduled to meet a Major from the mortuary command. I\u2019d potentially be traveling around the globe and escorting remains back to the U.S., as well as handling any media queries related to the war remains. But all I could think about was that I wouldn\u2019t get to see my family for a longtime \u2014 six months \u2014 or for as many months as my youngest daughter was old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I actually had to sign paperwork stating that I wouldn\u2019t see my family more than 24 out of the 180 days of my deployment, and all because of an arcane military regulation prohibiting deployed members \u2014 even those who would be stateside at times \u2014 from visiting with their families. It was enforced for any number of reasons, including avoiding the inherent distraction of family life, and for it I would receive an extra $250 a month in my paycheck called \u201cFamily Separation Pay.\u201d I couldn\u2019t even refuse this pittance and requirement if I wanted to, which I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The night before I left, I kissed my wife and two small daughters \u2018goodbye,\u2019 and then drove to my base at 2 a.m. A Unit Deployment Monitor (UDM) met me at the base at 3 a.m. and escorted me to the airport. It was ridiculous, because we both lived near the airport and we still had to drive to base. The military loves its procedures. We waited for a big blue bus and once it arrived we were the only passengers headed to Bradley International Airport outside of Hartford, Connecticut \u2014 the closest airport to my military base. And closer still to where we both lived!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My UDM, which was the acronym commonly used, basically helped me prepare for my deployment and then saw me out the door. We had to take the bus and she had to escort me because I guess some folks dodged their deployments or something at the last minute, preferring military prison to serving their country. My UDM was a thin, 30-something, and at the rank of Senior Airman, or four rungs up from the bottom of the enlisted ladder, she had been more capable than her junior rank might\u2019ve suggested. She was a UDM superstar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I didn\u2019t complain to her; I just enjoyed the last bit of company from home before I would go off alone on a deployment. As an Air Force Captain, I had 16 years of military service with many of those years in the Reserves, and in my career field of public affairs it wasn\u2019t uncommon for me to deploy alone. Especially since my deployment was stateside supporting a global mission command based in Delaware, but with more or less a satellite in Ramstein, Germany. Dover and Ramstein are Air Force bases that act as the hub of mortuary transport. Smaller planes bring bodies from all over the world, usually to Ramstein, and then their flown to Dover on C-5 or C-17 aircraft. There\u2019s also a Pacific passage for Fallen, but Dover is the main destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I flew to Philly in some regional airliner, and by the time I reached I was wired if only on a couple hours of sleep. Deep down inside, I was scared shitless that I would see a dead body and faint on the spot, but I was also expected to perform as a military officer and leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside the airport, I received a text instructing me to look for my contact near the airport\u2019s parking garage, and that he\u2019d drive me the hour or so to Dover. I knew his name, and at the time I\u2019ll just say he was a Major who would give me mixed feelings. He outranked me by one rank, and he was easy to spot in the parking area because he was the only other person wearing a military uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spotted the gold oak leaves, which indicated his rank as a Major, and who knows if he spotted the two dark blue bars connected by dark blue lines that indicated my rank as a Captain. They call them railroad tracks because my rank was the last stop on the junior officer line before crossing the tracks into senior officerhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 16 years in, I had spent about 10 of those years in the enlisted ranks before earning a commission and spending the last 6 years as a manager, or leader, in the officer ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Major was standing tall in his uniform and he smiled and waited for me to render a salute. I did. He was a late-30s African-American dude from Down South with an easy smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWelcome to your deployment.\u201d The major said something like that before he returned my salute. Then he did something peculiar: He switched to the correct side before we started walking \u2014 something about the highest ranking military person being on a particular side when walking beside someone of a lower rank, but I couldn\u2019t remember which side now even if I tried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t know him then, nor did I know it at the time because he had just driven over an hour to pick me up and was about to drive another hour back, but he would become \u2018Major Lazy\u2019 to me in the coming weeks, among other and perhaps more flattering names I would come up with for him in my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 40, I was older than the Major. But rank is rank. That would be my world for the next six months. Listening to people solely because they outranked me, and watching as others listened to me because I was an officer and outranked them. You see, there is a big difference between military Reserve and the active-duty military. They live in a constant military culture, and I only lived in it when I chose to, or during mandatory training in the Reserve. I served one weekend per month and two weeks per year. And I usually scheduled it around when my \u201creal life\u201d allowed. But now this was my \u201creal life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Major wasn\u2019t all that bad. I just thought he was lazy because I never saw him do much work other than completing a military course, and to tackle the things he was assigned by someone who outranked him. Me, somehow, I would garner the strength to take a lot of initiative and to do more than was expected of me. It all started when I arrived at the airport, wired, even with very little sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe, too, it was because this was my second deployment. I\u2019d been on one with the U.S. Navy close to two decades earlier. The first deployment was when I was a Sailor aboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier \u2014 the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt \u2014 deployed to Kosovo and to the Middle East for six months. During that deployment, I spent a total of 12 days on land over a 180-day stretch. It was brutal. Draconian. Noisy. Scary at times. Like the morning when I tried to walk onto the ship\u2019s mess decks for breakfast and got stopped so that bodies from an earlier accident could be stored in the warehouse-sized space below deck, where all the food was also refrigerated. Or the time when I had to fly in a helicopter with an admiral between two ships in our battle group \u2014 a nautical convoy spread out over many miles. I was the admiral\u2019s speech writer and photographer, and he was going to check on the troops in our battle group aboard another, much smaller vessel than the aircraft carrier. Not only was the ride harrowing, especially when the aircrew started it out by saying \u2014 \u201cIf we crash\u2026\u201d But landing the helicopter on the back of that vessel in strong winds at sea made my then-short life flash before my eyes. Even the admiral was sweating!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This latest deployment, though, was six months at Port Mortuary \u2014 nice lodging, food, freedom to travel Delaware when I wasn\u2019t on duty \u2014 and I was dreading it and longing for 168-straight days at sea again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing we did when we arrived at the mortuary command was participate in an \u201cOrientation.\u201d Now this is not what it sounds like. It wasn\u2019t some sort of indoctrination; instead, it was simply a tour to familiarize me with my new home for the next six months. One of the low-hanging fruits of my job as a public affairs officer was to supervise or show around distinguished visitors who wanted to see what they could of the mortuary\u2019s operations. I called them \u2018Ghoulish Guests\u2019 in my head. The mortuary\u2019s Public Affairs Office insisted on describing the visits as \u2018Orientations,\u2019 instead of as \u2018Tours,\u2019 and the only justification I was given for that word-choice preference was that \u201cOrientation sounds more respectful,\u201d or so said a long-standing civilian employee in the office who I called Miss P.A. \u2014 for \u201cPassive Aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either way, people from the outside were still walking around and gawking \u2014 maybe even looking for a dead body or two to roll by on a gurney clutching a riffle and wearing military fatigues or something \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t my favorite part of the job to be around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t know it then, but there would be a lot of dead bodies, more than 29 cases of assisting in the repatriation of our Nation\u2019s Fallen during my time at the mortuary. There would also be a lot of orientations, or easily dozens. And there were even historic \u2018Dignified Transfers,\u2019 or \u2018DTs:\u2019 such as the return of a fighter pilot who had been missing for a decade; the repatriation of what was believed to be the remains of 13 Tennessee volunteers who died during the Mexican-American War<\/a>; and a few other high-profile DTs \u2014 or the solemn return of Fallen service members to the U.S. under much media attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In a repatriation of remains event, Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations personnel and a U.S. Army carry team transfer the remains of what is believed to be the remains of Americans from a C-12 Huron aircraft during a dignified transfer Sept. 28, 2016, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Thirteen sets of remains believed to be of soldiers who died during the Battle of Monterrey, Mexico, in 1846 during the Mexican-American War were returned to the U.S. for forensic processing by Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. (Roland Balik\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One historic DT wouldn\u2019t happen until more than a year after my deployment had ended, but the national-TV news about it would get my attention and transport me right back to the mortuary. I could recall the steps in the process because I\u2019d led so many orientations when I was deployed there. The particular historic DT was the remains of the first bodies to be delivered by North Korea after the Korean War. They had been lost for sixty years or so and now their loved ones could finally put to rest their long-lost siblings, spouses, children, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not by fault of the military, but in the gory fog of war everyone\u2019s body doesn\u2019t always get brought back home heroically under a flag-draped gurney. Some bodies sink into the mud, face down, and are lost or forgotten there. But with this new news \u2014 for some \u2014 not forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the TV news reports, and the media display of ongoing talks between the White House and North Korean officials that more bodies would be returned, I began to hope, and to dream about that possibility. I know first-hand how important it would be to the families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, even months after returning from my life among the dead, I was brought back to the military\u2019s mortuary in mind, heart, and spirit \u2014 and I began to hope for them and all of the Nation\u2019s Fallen who had been left behind where they fell in battle. If they could speak, many if not all of the dead would demand to be brought back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the truth in the case of North Korea and many other forgotten fields of battle \u2014 is out of the thousands of lost U.S. Korean War remains, we\u2019d probably only get back a couple hundred, maybe a thousand \u2014 total \u2014 and the rest would be left to the flora, fauna, and mud forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dream Log\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island Singapore<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, June 11, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I KNOW EVERYONE THINKS I\u2019M A DICK, but at least I\u2019m not a dictator!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guy I\u2019m about to meet, on the other hand, would bomb the Capella Singapore hotel if they didn\u2019t make his bed up right. Not me \u2014 I\u2019d just sue them! It\u2019s the American way! I don\u2019t have to hit you to make you feel the sting of my wrath \u2014 that sting will go away\u2014but not so if I hit you with a lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no one is getting sued today. Today is for the history books \u2014 to write within the margins something great, and to hopefully push outside of the margins all the \u2018dick-like\u2019 things I\u2019ve done before and so far during my presidency, even though that probably won\u2019t happen in the fake-news media!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, I\u2019m about to go into this meeting with this little North Korean dic-tator, and I\u2019m gonna make him give us back the bodies of our fallen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019ll be great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ONE YEAR AFTER MY DEPLOYMENT, I completed a memoir about my six months working at the military\u2019s mortuary \u2014 and the many stories of fallen I experienced first-hand, or learned about from the workers who serve there on a permanent basis. I wrote the book to exorcise the demons in my head, which really are only bad memories I find too difficult to forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to receiving mental health counseling immediately after returning home, the book afforded me escape through cathartic expression by facing down my demons in order to understand how I might live without them \u2014 or the lingering and adverse effects of having served in one of the most emotionally-draining places in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps as more time passes, I will put the memories, and the book, to rest on a shelf. But I\u2019m not there yet. Triggers resurrect those demons still to this day. So, I guess, in a sense, I\u2019m still living my life among the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andre Bowser is a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and a captain in the Air Force Reserve. He lives in the Northeast with his two daughters, and cat D.O.G.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An excerpt from the memoir of a former spokesperson for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":102589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":73,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,73,12,25,13,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6666],"class_list":["post-70537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-culture","category-news","category-newsletters","category-off-duty","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UBWXSWQHRBFCTDJER6ESWJPNME","arc_canonical_url":"\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nMy life among the dead - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An excerpt from the memoir of a former spokesperson for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My life among the dead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An excerpt from the memoir of a former spokesperson for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-09T17:23:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T12:54:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andre Bowser\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andre Bowser\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"My life among the dead\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-06-09T17:23:05+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T12:54:03+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 2472,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Military Culture\",\n\t \"News\",\n\t \"Newsletters\",\n\t \"Off Duty\",\n\t \"Your Army\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"My life among the dead - Army Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-06-09T17:23:05+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T12:54:03+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"An excerpt from the memoir of a former spokesperson for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/09\\\/my-life-among-the-dead\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Off Duty\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"off-duty\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Military Culture\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/military-culture\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"military-culture\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 4,\n\t \"name\": \"My life among the dead\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"My life among the dead - Army Times","description":"An excerpt from the memoir of a former spokesperson for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My life among the dead","og_description":"An excerpt from the memoir of a former spokesperson for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2019-06-09T17:23:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T12:54:03+00:00","author":"Andre Bowser","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andre Bowser","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"My life among the dead","datePublished":"2019-06-09T17:23:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T12:54:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/"},"wordCount":2472,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Military Culture","News","Newsletters","Off Duty","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/","name":"My life among the dead - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-09T17:23:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T12:54:03+00:00","description":"An excerpt from the memoir of a former spokesperson for the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2019\/06\/09\/my-life-among-the-dead\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Off Duty","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/","ad_zone":"off-duty"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Military Culture","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/","ad_zone":"military-culture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"My life among the dead"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13-skeletal-remains-were-returned-to-Dover-on-Sept.-21-2016-170-years-after-the-Mexican-American-War.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70550,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70537\/revisions\/70550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70537"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=70537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}