Families More Often Meet Fallen at Dover

Greg Reiners stood on the flight line at Dover Air Force base early Monday morning.

It was cold and silent, save for the sound of Soldier footfalls and the whine of the C-17's generators keeping the lights on in the bay of the big cargo plane.

Reiners, flanked by his daughter-in-law Casey Reiners and his ex-wife Ronna Jackson, waited with the families of two other Soldiers killed when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle drove into their patrol in southern Afghanistan on Friday. They listened to the chaplain say a prayer. Then the caskets were rolled down the cargo ramp.

John Reiners' was first.

Casey and Ronna started crying at the sight.

"I got weak in the knees too," Reiners said. "But I had to stand strong."

He embraced Casey. He embraced Ronna.

"I held them tight," he said. "I let them know I was there for both of them."

For Reiners, the experience was deeply moving and greatly appreciated.

And it was only possible, he said, because of a policy instituted in April by the Obama administration that pays for up to three family members to fly to Dover, the sprawling Delaware base where Americans killed in action are brought home.

"If not for this program, I would not have been able to experience this," Reiners said.

Facility for the families

Those who came to see the return of John Reiners, 24, and the other Soldiers were among the first to experience the military's new Center for The Families of the Fallen.

Opened on Jan. 6, the 6,000-square-foot facility gives families a place to wait comfortably for transportation to the flight line, according to Lt. Col. Les Carroll, spokesman for the Army's port mortuary unit --- charged with handling the remains of fallen military personnel.

Constructed for $1.6 million, "it is a nice facility," Carroll said. "There are multiple sitting areas, a kitchen, restrooms and a child nursery area. We bring the families from the hotel to there, where they wait for the call to go to the flight line."

Sometimes, the wait is only a few minutes, he said. Sometimes, the wait can be an hour or two. It depends on when the plane carrying the remains arrives.

Dover is well equipped to help families cope, Carroll said. Casualty Assistance Officers provide a single contact between the military and the family. There are chaplains and funeral directors on hand to offer advice, and the mortuary unit performs autopsies, ensures proper identification and prepares the body for final disposition.

The efforts are paying off, Carroll said.

"Since April, more than 70 percent of families come to the Dignified Transfer," he said.

Plans never came to pass

The last time Greg Reiners talked to his son was Thursday. The two men planned a family camping trip.

That never happened. They met up instead in Dover.

While extremely sad, experiencing the Dignified Transfer was also cathartic, Reiners said.

"I was very proud," he said of being able to see his son's flag-draped casket.

There was also a chance to talk to the families of the other dead Soldiers. A chance to swap happy stories about the kids growing up.

And then there were the final details.

"They will take care of John's body up there," Reiners said. "They will clean him up, patch him up, put on a brand new Class A uniform and his medals and make him perfect."

So much so that the family will likely have an open-casket funeral.

"We were told his face was not damaged," Reiners said.