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Marine unit handles fewer Iraq war dead

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Times Staff Writer

Of all the duties a Marine can have in Iraq, the one undoubtedly least sought after is becoming one of the least needed.

Personnel Retrieval and Processing, a unit that makes its home in a large earth-sheathed hangar on this air base in the desert of western Iraq, has had only about one mission per month this year.

The seemingly endless days of idleness are considered ideal by members of this reserve Marine Corps unit from Georgia.

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“I enjoy the slow times,” said Sgt. Christopher Crowder-Barnes of Marietta, Ga. “I enjoy it because it means nobody’s dying.”

The PRP is the unit that prepares the remains of Marines for the journey home. It is one of three PRPs in Anbar province and part of Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group.

Remains are usually brought to the base for processing. The goal is to place the remains, draped in an American flag, on an airplane as quickly as possible for return to their families, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bo Causey, who heads the unit.

The hardest missions involve multiple, or especially grim, casualties. In such cases, a team goes into the field to conduct the recovery.

Across Anbar, U.S. military deaths have dropped to about three per month this year, compared with a rate of nearly one per day throughout 2006 and in the first half of last year, according to the independent website icasualties.org.

This year all three Anbar units combined have had only four field retrievals, Causey said.

Despite the decline, the psychic strain of being constantly prepared never diminishes.

Like firefighters, the 14 men who work here keep themselves ready to be called at any hour. They work out, study and read during their idle hours. They also practice processing. They stick close together, generally not associating much outside their own circle.

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And they consciously watch one another for signs of distress.

“Everybody has their own personal breaking point,” Causey said. “So we all make an effort to get in touch with what we are all thinking.

“We pay close attention to everyone’s routines, what they say, their attitudes. If something changes, we try to jump on it.”

Causey and other senior officers live in the hangar, inherited from Saddam Hussein’s air force. The accommodations are spartan. Besides their bunks, there is a weight room.

And then there is the processing room. It looks like a medical examiner’s lab, with stainless steel gurneys and a cold-storage area.

Though it was called Mortuary Affairs until a 2005 name change, the PRP does not attempt to prepare the remains for funeral, Causey said. The mission is to stabilize and clean them.

Victims of bomb explosions often are dismembered, so the PRP does its best to organize and clean the portions. (“Body parts” is not the accepted term.)

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Causey, a veteran of some of the deadliest Anbar fighting in 2004 and 2005, said he was “voluntold” into the unit in 2003. Three other members who spoke to The Times described falling into the work by chance, not knowing exactly what it was.

Each had to pass a moment of truth when he found he was psychologically suited for it. For some, this occurred in training.

“When you see some of the slide shows, some of the pictures, it’s pretty horrifying,” said Lance Cpl. William Perkins of Fayetteville, Ga.

There are two common reactions.

“One . . . is complete shock,” Perkins said. “It’s just hard to process. The other reaction, which all 14 of us had, is just start making order out of chaos. Put the pieces back together. It’s just an instinctual thing for us, which is why we’re suited for the job.”

For all of them, there’s a second moment of truth.

“It’s not till the first time you open up a human remains pouch and actually look,” Causey said. “You take in the smell, and you take in the sights. For a lot of us, you take in that it’s an American uniform.

“Sometimes you have photos of family. That can be hard for some people. We don’t look at them, but we have to sort out and process them . . . and annotate everything on paperwork. Once you make it through the first time, it’s something you will be able to handle.”

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Lance Cpl. Nick DiVito said he has found a method to manage his emotions:

“I kind of shut off my brain,” DiVito said. “I know what to do. I know my job. I just shut off my brain to that bad stuff. It seems to work.”

The Marines all said the job brings them a heightened sense of honor.

Perkins credited DiVito for putting it into words.

“The most rewarding thing for him is when you see in the back of a C-130, an American flag-draped transfer case -- you’ve spent the past how many hours preparing to get them home, knowing they’re going to be home and their family is going to have closure,” Perkins said. “That’s very rewarding. That’s what we all try to do. Get them home as fast as possible.”

Other Marines often are uncomfortable around the PRP team, but usually express respect, unit members said.

“In my opinion, it is possibly the most honorable job we have out here,” Causey said. “It’s just one no one likes to talk about.”

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doug.smith@latimes.com

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