A viral video depicting the Delta Airlines Honor Guard receiving the remains of war dead appears to be telling the wrong story, even though it has been cycling on the web for two years and has been viewed by nearly 8.5 million people. The incorrect story is that the remains shown belonged to a soldier and his K-9, which according to a description of the video offered by the Delta Honor Guard coordinator in Atlanta, Brian McConnell, is really just a rumor that someone attached to the video some time ago. McConnell states in the description:

My name is Brian McConnell, I work for Delta Air Lines and coordinate the Honor Guard program for the military fallen, however the information put out by most people sharing this video is incorrect. I know it has been shared with the heading “Watch what Delta does for Fallen Soldier and his K9” but that info is incorrect.

The truth is, the first fallen coming off the aircraft, covered in the U.S. Flag is a soldier missing over 63 years from the Korean War who was identified and was being returned to his family, the second and smaller box was actually additional bone fragments of a soldier who was already sent home and buried, they were to go and be interned [sic] with that soldier.

When the video was first posted we had a description on the video but as you are probably aware of internet “trolls” got on it and started some very vile comments and disrespectful comments. Some were very hurtful to our military so rather than have the families who have lost a loved one have to see them we shut off the comments,

So when it was shared “millions” of times, somebody assumed it was a current conflict soldier and his K9 companion. I have posted in many of the video comments that this is incorrect but when my comment is 8 pages down, nobody sees it.

While McConnell was not available as of this writing to verify this description, the video itself offers information that arguably does that for him.

The remains are not in sealed caskets, which is standard procedure for the handling of recent war dead, according to William R. Snyder, a fourth generation funeral director from William Snyder & Forgie Snyder Funeral Homes in Pennsylvania. Snyder further explained that it is highly unlikely that recent war dead would have their remains handled by baggage handlers in the manner shown in the video. There would usually be a full military honor guard present to receive the casket, not just a couple members of the military standing as witnesses to the transfer. Also, he verified that cardboard and wood containers would most likely be used for the transfer of repatriated remains from previous wars, like the Korean War, because there may not be the same public health concerns as there would be with transporting the remains of a recent casualty of war.

Based on the information offered by McConnell and Snyder, it is reasonable to assume the description offered with the video is accurate – which means that for two years, the partial remains of a Korean War veteran have been referred to as the remains of a dog. While nothing can be done about getting the truth to the nearly 8.5 million that already saw this video, at least some of the people that see it now will know these remains are from the forgotten war.