ARTIFACTS FROM DOVER PORT MORTUARY ADDED TO MUSEUM'S COLLECTIONS

The National Museum of Health and Medicine has acquired more than two-dozen artifacts from the Dover Port Mortuary (DPM), located at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del., to add to its collection of more than 12,000 historical objects.

These artifacts, donated by DPM when it relocated to a newly constructed and larger facility at Dover Air Force Base in mid-October 2003, include an autopsy table and scale, embalmer's table, embalming machine, lamps, stretchers, hazardous waste stations, fume hoods, and a stainless steel sink. All of the donated items were used in DPM's former facility, which was located immediately north of the present building and which served as the Department of Defense's largest and only domestic processing mortuary from April 1955 until October 2003.

"When we combine all of the donated items, we can recreate the steps used at Dover Port Mortuary, which has prepared for burial the vast majority of military personnel that have been killed in military conflicts or civilians killed in accidents with military significance since the late 1950s," said Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum's assistant director for collections. "These artifacts will document the mortuary's existence, importance, and role in military and medical history." The museum acquired the artifacts with the support and assistance of the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner and the staff of DPM.

The Dover Air Force Base is one of the Air Force's largest bases and the military's busiest aerial port and now employs thousands of military and civilian personnel. Since DPM opened there in 1955, it has steadily grown in size, and several additions were made to the old facility before the new one was constructed. DPM has served as a funeral home, morgue, forensic investigation center, and a mortuary for members of the military and some civilians. The new facility serves the same functions, but is larger and more modern.

The processing procedure used at DPM can take up to 24 hours. When DPM receives human remains, forensic professionals first attempt to make an identification using dental records, DNA evidence, X-rays, and fingerprint analysis. After collecting, inventorying, and cleaning all of the victim's personal belongings and clothing, technicians perform an autopsy and embalm the body. The deceased is then dressed in a new uniform, decorations, and medals. Finally, morticians prepare a casket and make burial arrangements with the victim's next-of-kin.

DPM has processed casualties from the Vietnam War, the Challenger Shuttle crash in 1986, operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, the Pentagon terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, the Columbia Shuttle crash in 2003, and, most recently, American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. DPM estimates that it has processed approximately 60,000 deceased since it opened almost 50 years ago, including victims of plane crashes, bombings, and hostage situations.

Museum staff have assisted in forensic identification activities at DPM since the first Gulf War, according to Paul Sledzik, curator of the museum's anatomical collection, who worked there in 2002 when he helped to identify victims of the Pentagon terrorist attack. "The objects we have obtained from the mortuary reflect the facility that served military identification efforts for 48 years," said Sledzik.

The new facility continues in these efforts. It is approximately 70,000 square feet, which is almost twice the size of the former facility. The increase in the mortuary's size and the purchase of more modern equipment are expected to allow victims to be processed more quickly and efficiently. The old facility has been demolished and now serves as a parking area for the new building.

The museum's historical collection is made available for the education of medical professionals, Department of Defense personnel, historians, and the public through exhibits in the museum, loans to other institutions, and individualized study.

The museum is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. For information about the museum's collections, visit www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum.