Monday, November 14, 2005

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- After Gay and Fred Eisenhauer learned their son had been killed while serving in Iraq in May, the couple traveled to the cargo area at Lambert Airport in St. Louis to get his body.Army Pfc. Wyatt Eisenhauer's flag-draped coffin was delivered to his parents in a crate-filled area of the airport where workers on break sat nearby smoking cigarettes.For Gay Eisenhauer, it was an impersonal place to meet her 26-year-old son on his final trip home."When we bring them home and we call them heroes, let's treat them like heroes all the way and not pull them into a cargo section and bring them home to the family that way," said Eisenhauer, of Pinckneyville, on Wednesday.Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn have taken up the cause, meeting Wednesday with U.S. Army Secretary Francis Harvey and urging him to improve how the military works with families of those killed in the line of duty."To have that reunifying moment in a place like that I think is symbolic of the need to change some of the policy so there's more sensitivity," Blagojevich said.Some of the suggestions Blagojevich and Quinn made to Harvey included better training for officers who interact with distraught families and prompt delivery of service members' medals and awards to surviving family.Army spokesman Paul Boyce said the Army has been assessing how to improve the process of notifying families of the deaths of their loved ones. The review is expected to be done in January, he said."Our largest concern is to make sure information is conveyed expeditiously and accurately to family members. We're looking at new ways to improve it throughout the Army," he said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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