Marines Who Cared for Dead in Iraq Launch Death Scene Cleaning Firm

Carrying on what they learned in Iraq, two Marines stand ready to help families dealing with the aftermath of tragedy.

Images of Benjamin Lichtenwalner and Ryan Sawyer and their mortuary unit in Iraq provided to Salem-News.com by BioTrauma.com

(GAINESVILLE, Ga.) - As part of the first group of Marines ever trained to perform search and recovery duties for fallen servicemen overseas, Benjamin Lichtenwalner and Ryan Sawyer realized both the historical and practical importance of their mission from day one.

This ultimately resulted in their establishment of Biotrauma, Inc. - a death scene cleaning firm founded on sensitivity for the emotionally traumatized.

"In Iraq, we became seasoned in dialogue with people who were emotionally distraught. Units that incurred a casualty would often times assign an escort for the remains, and that escort would typically be a good friend of the deceased and someone who we would encounter frequently during the course of our work," says Lichtenwalner.

When it comes to biotrauma remediation, or crime scene cleaning and sterilization, timeliness is crucial for families' psychological well being, experts say.

Sawyer likens the work to his experience in Iraq - maintaining on-call readiness at all hours of the night: "When remains were recovered from the field and sent to our location for documentation, it would most likely happen at night to avoid enemy rocket-fire."

The two Marines gained a deep reverence for the deceased after having performed countless "flight-line ceremonies" as they loaded human remains on outbound aircraft.

"These were respectful commemorations performed by warriors for warriors... without an audience," says Lichtenwalner.

As they service families here in the States, Sawyer and Lichtenwalner say they are elevating the American standard of living.

"100 years ago, it was common for a family to bury their own. As a need for sensitivity was realized, the role of the funeral director came into view," says Sawyer.

"We consider what we do to be our calling, and truly the next societal advancement over old practice."

The Marines of Biotrauma say that 80% of all incidents are cleaned up by the families themselves, and that public awareness must be increased to prevent familial exposure to psychological stress.

Biotrauma specializes in the decontamination and restoration of suicide, homicide, and natural death scenes for families who have experienced a traumatizing incident in the home.

After having spent time in Iraq, Marines Ben Lichtenwalner and Ryan Sawyer returned home to serve the public in the same manner as their fallen brethren overseas.

To learn more, visit BioTrauma.com or send Benjamin Lichtenwalner an email at this address: benjamin@biotrauma.com

SOURCE Biotrauma, Inc