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Gen. Mike Minihan, Commander of Air Mobility Command, visits the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station June 8, 2024.

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Cleaning Medals

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joseph McKee
  • 914th Airlift Wing
NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION N.Y. --  U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Gary Fernandes, 914th Services Squadron, uses a rotary tool to clean a religious medal so it can be returned to a fallen service member's family. Sergeant Fernandes and 13 other 914th SVS members are deployed to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center at Dover Air Force Base,
Del., where they help provide dignity, honor and respect for the fallen, as well as care, service and support for their family members

Medals like this and other personal effects are cleaned and restored as much as possible by Tech. Sgt. Gary Fernandes and other members of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center at Dover Air Force Base, Del. They are then either given to the person escorting the fallen service member to their final destination so they can be presented to the family, or taken to the Joint Personal Effects Depot at Aberdeen, Md., for further restoration or storage. Sergeant Fernandes and 13 other 914th Services Squadron members are currently deployed to the center. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ed Drohan)