Personnel Retrieval and Processing Unit

Sergeant Scott Reckefus, a 23-year-old native of Manassas, Va. and reserve Marine with Camp Taqaddum's personnel retrieval and processing detachment, folds a flag over a transfer case, which is used to protect the remains of service members during transit July 19, 2006. The mission of PRP is to inventory the personal effects, identify the types of wounds sustained, and prepare the remains of service members killed in the Al Anbar province for transportation to Dover Air Force Base. The Marine Corps' Personnel Retrieval and Processing units, formerly known as mortuary affairs, serve as a stepping stone on the journey home for those killed while serving in what is arguably the most dangerous province for U.S. service members in Iraq. Called PRP for short, the units are made up of 51 reserve Marines and sailors from various units and job fields. At Camp Taqaddum, a main logistics base located between Fallujah and Ramadi, the Marines have converted an old Iraqi Air Force hangar into the processing center for those killed in the Sunni-dominated area west of Baghdad. "It's a job we do with respect, and it is an honor to give respect to our fallen brothers and sisters," said Cpl. Jose D. James, a 22-year-old native of Annandale, Va., who is finishing up a voluntary seven-month tour serving with the 1st Marine Logistics Group's PRP detachment. (Official USMC photograph by Cpl. Stephen Holt. 0607019-M-0293H-020. Released.)

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Credit: Cpl. Stephen Holt