Scandal is rekindled over treatment of Glenn
Air Force probes whether rules were broken at mortuary
A scandal involving the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, the main point of entry for U.S. troops killed overseas, has rekindled with controversy over the care of astronaut John Glenn’s body.
On Monday, the Air Force reassigned the mortuary branch chief at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and opened an investigation into whether he improperly offered to allow a team of inspectors to view the embalmed corpse of former Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio.
Glenn, 95, died Dec. 6 in Ohio. But his widow, Annie, wanted to wait until April 6, the couple’s wedding anniversary, to bury the former Marine pilot and astronaut at Arlington National Cemetery. So his body was transferred to the Dover mortuary for safekeeping.
‘Target on my back’
In early March, a team of Pentagon inspectors was visiting the mortuary when the branch chief, William Zwicharowski, asked if they wanted to view Glenn’s body. Military officials said the inspectors were shocked by the offer, which they declined but reported as a breach of protocol.
The investigation revives painful memories of a 2011 scandal that involved missing body parts, a mutilated corpse and other systemic problems.
That scandal was exposed by four whistleblowers at the mortuary who were disciplined or fired by commanders at Dover for reporting the troubles. One of those whistleblowers was Zwicharowski — who told the Washington Post on Friday that the investigation into the Glenn incident was another attempt by the Air Force to punish him for speaking out.
“I have a target on my back,” he said. “It’s continued retaliation.”
Zwicharowski said he did nothing improper by offering to let the inspectors view Glenn’s remains. He said his staff had further embalmed the body because Glenn’s funeral was still weeks away and wanted to show the inspectors their techniques.
“I was proud of the job we did and wanted them to see our care and work,” he said. “After all, that was what we were being inspected for.”
Air Force officials denied they were retaliating against Zwicharowski.
Zwicharowski and other personnel at Dover questioned the legitimacy of the Pentagon inspection team. They noted that two of its members had previously served at the mortuary and had been publicly implicated in the 2011 scandal for their role in the mutilation of the body of a Marine killed in Afghanistan.
Arm sawed off
The body of Marine Sgt. Daniel Angus was shattered, and his upper left arm was frozen at an angle that made it impossible to dress him in uniform. Without notifying his family, two embalmers sawed off Angus’ arm so they could fit him in his casket.
Whistleblowers, including Zwicharowski, reported the incident to outside investigators at the time as a desecration of the dead. The two embalmers were transferred to other military jobs.
Zwicharowski and other mortuary workers said they were stunned when the two embalmers returned as part of the Pentagon inspection team.
“It’s absolutely insane,” said a Dover official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Those people don’t have any credibility.”
Defense Department officials did not respond to requests for comment.