A body bag containing the dead body or partial remains of a soldier lies on a stretcher in a ...

Accession Number P02335.007
Collection type Photograph
Object type Transparency
Maker Holford, David Edward
Place made Vietnam: South Vietnam, Saigon
Date made 29 January 1971
Conflict Period 1970-1979
Copyright Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
Creative Commons License This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
Description

A body bag containing the dead body or partial remains of a soldier lies on a stretcher in a reefer (refrigerator) box at the entrance to the In-Processing Section of the United States Army Mortuary complex at Tan Son Nhut Airbase. With a capacity of 1,800 cubic feet, the reefer box was used to store human remains until mortuary staff had time to deal with them. The US Army Mortuary had five such storage boxes to enable it to cope with sudden upsurges in the numbers of fatal casualties. The In-Processing Section housed the x-ray room, the autopsy room and the preparation or embalming room. (Original 35mm half-frame transparency held in AWM Archive Store)

Order a copy

Related information

Conflicts