Warbird Information Exchange

Wow! Some of the comments said the shrapnel was from the coffin when he was cremated, but I wasn't aware that they burn the coffin when someone is cremated.

Reminds me of the story about the guy from New York who as a teen was hit while standing on a corner in Brooklyn in 1960 when a UNITED DC-8 and a TWA CONNIE smashed into the intersection after colliding and hit him-years later doctors doing other surgery discovered the guy had about 39 cents in change imbedded in his thigh from the crash debris slamming into him, verified the time frame from the mint dates on the coins. 'spare change man?'

TROJANII wrote:Wow! Some of the comments said the shrapnel was from the coffin when he was cremated, but I wasn't aware that they burn the coffin when someone is cremated.

Those making the comments are correct - When you are cremated, your remains are put into a basic, striped down coffin, and then you and the coffin are placed into the oven to be reduced to ash. Any human remains not consumed in the fire (bones) are mechanically ground into ash, with other non-organic materials being removed (discounting personal items, etc, that were intentionally placed with the body) prior to the ashes being returned to the family. As per the comments, what we are indeed seeing is the more than likely the remnants of the coffin and other items as used by the funeral home in the preparation of the body, and not the shrapnel itself.