OCD 3033 
October 1942 
Medical Division 
Bulletin No. J 
EMERGENCY 
MORTUARY SERVICES 
United States Office of Civilian Defense 
Washington9 D. C. TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Page 
General Considerations 1 
Preliminary Procedure 1 
Organization : „ 2 
A. Morgue 2 
B. Insignia * 2 
C. Transport Facilities 2 
Operation 3 
A. Marking and Segregation 3 
B. Transport. 3 
C. Morgue Reception - 3 
D. Personal Property 4 
E. Morgue Storage 4 
F. Identification Procedures 4 
G. Release and Disposal of Bodies 4 
Special Treatment of Gas-Contaminated Bodies 6 
Emergency Mass Disposal of Bodies 6 
Casualty Reporting 6 
Completion and Storage of Records 6 EMERGENCY MORTUARY SERVICES 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 
In some air raids forty percent of the casualties 
may be fatal, but fortunately the total number of 
casualties is usually small in proportion to the 
amount of property damage. While the wounded 
require first attention, the dead should be cared 
for promptly and inconspicuously, and always 
with proper reverence and respect. The mortuary 
service is an essential part of the casualty organi* 
zation and of the war effort, and must be con- 
ducted with tact and efficiency. Detailed in- 
structions for all communities are impossible be- 
cause of wide variations in local legal practices 
and responsibilities, but general principles and 
procedures may be indicated. 
Normal funeral services, including embalming, 
caskets and individual burial or cremation, should 
be provided by private morticians insofar as 
circumstances permit, and every opportunity 
should be given for appropriate religious observ- 
ances. There must be sufficient mortuary and 
burial accommodations as well as sufficient staff 
and transport to deal with the number of bodies 
which may reasonably be expected in view of the 
size and density of the population and the degree 
of exposure to enemy attack. It is essential to 
provide for prompt removal of bodies from the 
scene of the incident to a mortuary, followed by 
identification and rapid clearance of the mortuary. 
Speed and efficiency must be coupled with con- 
sideration for the feelings of bereaved relatives. 
A breakdown in this important service may have 
a serious effect upon public morale and the prose- 
cution of the war. 
To facilitate identification, each civilian in 
target areas of the country should be encouraged 
to carry an identification bracelet or necklace, or 
a metal identification pocket piece. These may 
be obtained at jewelry stores, five-and-ten-cent 
stores, novelty shops and from public vending 
machines. Lucky pocket pieces and key tags 
with names are examples of useful vending ma- 
chine products. Metal “charga-plates” issued by 
some department stores for credit purposes make 
satisfactory identification tags. 
PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE 
The local Chief of Emergency Medical Servic« 
should call into conference the following officers 
who, besides himself, may have normal or emer- 
gency responsibilities in the collection and dis- 
posal of the dead. Under his leadership, this 
group should create the necessary organization 
and clarify the lines of responsibility for handling 
the fatalities. A careful survey of existing morgue, 
mortuary and cemetery facilities should be the 
first step in planning for emergencies. 
1. Medical Examiner, Coroner or similar 
official who has legal responsibilities in connection 
with the investigation of deaths from violence and 
disposition of remains. 
2. Chief of Police, who usually has legal re- 
sponsibilities for identification of the dead and 
disposal of their personal effects. 
3. Health Officer, who has public health re- 
sponsibilities in the disposal of bodies and record- 
ing of deaths. 
4. Representative of the private funeral 
directors and cemeteries, to act as liaison officer 
with that profession in planning for the collection, 
transportation and temporary storage of the dead 
and for the preparation of bodies few burial. 
Several national and local organizations of funeral 
directors have made plans to cooperate with local 
civilian defense authorities. 
These officials in conference should provide for: 
a. Location of the morgue and of supplementary 
morgue facilities. 
b. Administration of these facilities by the 
police, medical examiner or coroner under whom 
they are customarily operated. 
c. Training of supplementary mortuary per- 
sonnel in adequate numbers for emergency duty 
at morgue and on mortuary vehicles. 
d. Responsibility for the collection and prep- 
aration of the dead and for burial. 
e. Rules governing the emergency issuance of 
death certificates and burial permits for both 
identified and unidentified casualties. 
f. Type of inquests, if any, to be required. 
Although inquests should not be required for 
483691°—42 deaths due to enemy action, autopsies are of great 
value in planning better means of future protec- 
tion and should be encouraged whenever possible. 
g. Safeguarding of personal property of the 
identified and of the unidentified dead. 
h. Manufacture of board coffins in adequate 
numbers. 
i. Pooling of equipment and personnel of private 
mortuaries in emergencies. 
j. Identification procedures: Viewing by rela- 
tives and friends, photography, fingerprinting, 
and other means of identification. 
k. Location and preparation of burial places for 
unclaimed and unidentified bodies. 
l. Preparation of mortality lists and determina- 
tion of policy concerning their publication or post- 
ing by the police, the health officer, or other cas- 
ualty information officer. 
m. Arrangements with neighboring communi- 
ties for mutual aid, which should include provision 
for the loan of mortuary personnel and equipment. 
ORGANIZATION 
A, Morgue 
In large cities, the morgue facilities and equip- 
ment should not be concentrated in one place. 
The main morgue (designated “A”) should be 
located centrally; it will usually be the regular 
public morgue of the community. Tentative 
arrangements should be made for the use of skating 
rinks, gymnasiums, auditoriums, or similar build- 
ings for use as supplementary morgues (designated 
B, C, D, etc.) as necessary to provide space to lay 
out bodies in the ratio of two per thousand popu- 
lation, in target areas. 
The normal morgue personnel should be supple- 
mented with auxiliaries who have been trained by 
instructors furnished by the morticians of the 
community. Some of the morgue personnel may 
be employees of the police department or of the 
medical examiner’s office, assisted by trained vol- 
unteers from private funeral establishments who 
are accustomed to handling the dead. 
The staff of the Emergency Mortuary Service 
in large cities should consist of the following during 
emergency periods: 
1. Director, in charge of morgue operations. 
2. Physician, to confirm deaths. 
3. Recorder, to supervise the reception and 
disposal of bodies and to keep the Morgue Record 
Book. 
4. Property Officer, to keep personal property 
and the records pertaining thereto. 
5. Identification Officer, who controls the 
viewing of bodies and completes the identification 
record, including fingerprinting, photographing 
and recording identifying marks or anatomical 
features. A police officer, experienced in identi- 
fication procedures, serves well in this capacity. 
He may require assistance in the making of finger- 
print records and identification photographs, and 
the services of a dentist to make dental charts. 
6. A Coroner's or Medical Examiner’s Rep- 
resentative, who has authority to sign death 
certificates and order disposal of unidentified 
bodies. 
7. Morgue Attendants, for handling bodies; 
one per 10,000 population with a minimum of 
four part time attendants in each morgue. 
8. Clerical Assistants, at least one per 50,000 
population with a minimum of two per mortuary. 
9. Receptionists, tactful and intelligent female 
attendants, who should be available for interview- 
ing and consoling the relatives and friends. 
In small cities, several of these functions may 
be assumed by one person. Fewer personnel are 
needed in less exposed areas. 
B. insignia 
All volunteer members of an emergency mortu- 
ary organization are to enroll with the Civilian 
Defense Volunteer Office and be registered offi- 
cially by the Director of the Mortuary Service as 
members of the United States Citizens Defense 
Corps. They are then entitled to wear the arm- 
band and insigne of the Emergency Medical Serv- 
ice, of which the Mortuary Service is a part. 
f. Transport Facilities 
To insure the most economical use of transport 
vehicles, the hearses, flower cars and other vehicles 
of private mortuaries should be in the transport 
pool of the Emergency Medical Service and be 
under the direction of the transport officer during 
and after a raid. If other vehicles are used, the 
floor and a short distance up the sides should be 
lined with some suitable non-absorbent material 
that may readily be washed down. OPERATION 
A. Marking and Segregation 
The dead should be tagged in the field with 
identification tags in the same manner as the 
wounded, covered with clothing or sheets if 
possible, and segregated from the living while 
awaiting transport. A record of the site where 
the body was found is important, for it may pro- 
vide a clue to identification. 
The dead should not be brought by stretcher 
teams to a first aid post, casualty station or hos- 
pital. Those who die after reaching these places 
should be placed in a separate room or yard from 
which they are later removed, preferably by 
separate exit. 
Whenever possible, a physician should examine 
the body before it is moved to the morgue so as to 
determine whether life is actually extinct. To the 
inexperienced, a condition of profound shock with 
extremely shallow respiration may give the appear- 
ance of death. When there is the slightest doubt, 
the body should be taken to a hospital or casualty 
station for observation. 
B. Transport 
After necessary transport has been furnished the 
living, the transport officer will promptly dispatch 
appropriate equipment and personnel to remove all 
bodies from the scene of the disaster, and from first 
aid posts, casualty stations, and hospitals, to the 
official morgue. The identified dead may later be 
taken to private mortuaries. The identified dead 
in hospitals or homes, if released by the coroner or 
medical examiner or by the health officer, may be 
transferred directly to private mortuaries. Un- 
identified dead should always be sent to the 
morgue. 
It may at times be necessary to employ the 
same vehicle for the dead as for the wounded, 
although some cities prohibit such use. 
C. Morgue Reception 
Immediately after arrival at the morgue, a 
physician should again examine each body to con- 
firm state of death; if there is any possibility of life, 
the body should be removed at once to a hospital. 
When a body is received, a metal tag showing a 
letter to identify the morgue and a serial accession 
number should be fastened around the neck with 
a wire. This tag should be removed only from 
identified bodies ready for private interment or 
cremation. The tags should not be removed from 
unidentified bodies, even at the time of burial, as 
they may be important for later identification. 
These tags may be prepared from scrap galvanized 
iron or other metal obtained from a tin shop and 
marked with a tool marking set and hammer, 
obtainable in tool and machine shops or in hard- 
ware stores. 
In the morgue receiving room a record book 
(fig.-1), supplied by the Office of Civilian Defense, 
should be filled in as completely as possible. The 
morgue accession number in the book should 
correspond to that on the metal tag attached to the 
body. 
S , o Received < Diepoiition 
Nom* Addreil Z j! 5 » I ~ ~ " ' Property Received b,- BoJ, Received ky- 3rs5 
g s w Dot« Hour From— Data Hour To— OrdaroJ Wy— K (Si*nah»r«) (S**i»«»wr«) (Thom) 
FIGURE 1.—MORGUE RECORD BOOK Dm Personal Property 
In the receiving room of the morgue, clothing, 
contents of pockets and jewelry should be placed 
in a strong paper bag marked with the number 
assigned to the body. The objects should be 
listed on a form pasted or printed on the outside of 
the bag. This list must be checked when the 
body and property are removed from the morgue. 
Property bags of unidentified dead should be 
transferred to the custody of the police or other 
authorized officials and a receipt signature 
obtained by the morgue recorder. For the identi- 
fied dead, the property bag may be delivered to 
responsible relatives or their agents upon a proper 
receipt. 
Ration books and registration identity cards 
should be transferred to the police who will forward 
them to the Rationing Board or other appropriate 
agency. 
Em Morgue Storage 
As soon as possible after bodies have been placed 
in the morgue and before they are viewed for 
identification purposes, they should be cleansed 
thoroughly so as to be as presentable as possible. 
They should be laid out on the floor in orderly 
rows, covered with clean sheets or blankets. 
Proper cleansing and laying out is important for 
public morale. When mutilation of the features 
or of the body has occurred, an effort should be 
made to dissuade the relatives from viewing the 
body, provided other means of identification are 
available. 
Unidentified bodies should be kept in a room 
separate from those already identified, so that a 
minimum number will be seen by persons viewing 
the bodies for purposes of identification. Inspec- 
tion of unidentified bodies should be by permit 
only, such permits to be issued at police stations 
or the Casualty Information Service office to 
individuals who may be able to make an identifi- 
cation. 
The period during which unclaimed or uniden- 
tified bodies are to be retained in the morgue will 
be determined by local laws, morgue capacity, 
weather, and the speed of disposal methods used. 
Forty-eight hours is suggested as the time limit 
without embalming or refrigeration. 
Provision should be made at the morgue for 
embalming bodies if private mortuaries become 
overtaxed. For this purpose suitable tables and 
equipment should be available. It may be wise 
to use volunteer embalmers from the private 
mortuaries for central embalming service at the 
morgue in case of any considerable number of 
deaths; this would permit more effective use of 
the available embalmers and would allow bodies 
to be held longer at the morgue for identification. 
F. Identification Procedures 
Before the disposal of unidentified bodies, cer- 
tain information must be recorded on identifica- 
tion record cards (fig. 2), supplied by the Office 
of Civilian Defense. This should include photo- 
graph, fingerprints, a dental chart and a record 
of physical abnormalities and blemishes. 
G, Release and Disposal of Bodies 
Identified bodies should be released to private 
funeral directors as soon as they are claimed by 
responsible relatives. Unidentified bodies may 
also be consigned by proper officials to private 
funeral directors for disposal. Bodies should be 
removed from the mortuary only at specified 
periods when viewing is not permitted. 
Pending appropriate permanent legislation, 
burial expenses for all persons deceased as a 
result of enemy action will be paid by the Federal 
Government, at rates not to exceed $100 in any 
one case for complete burial including ground for 
interment. Such payment will be in lieu of, but 
not in addition to, payments made by the dece- 
dent’s family or friends. Prior authorization is not 
required for the payment of such costs, provided 
that a certificate has been issued in each case by the 
Commander of the appropriate Citizens Defense 
Corps or his designated representative, stating 
that death occurred as a direct result of enemy 
action. Bills for burial costs must be accompanied 
by these certificates. Such bills and certificates 
should be forwarded through the local Chief of 
Emergency Medical Service to the State Chief of 
Emergency Medical Service for official voucher - 
ing, certification, and transmittal to the Office of 
Civilian Defense Regional Medical Officer, and 
thence to the Emergency Medical Section, United 
States Public Health Service, Washington, D. C. 
Every effort should be made to facilitate the OCT) Form No. 1ST 
Possible or partial name 
(Surname) (Given name) 
Possible or partial address 
Where found 
By whom — Date 
Sex Race Hair Eyes Build 
Approximate: Age Height Weight 
IDENTIFICATION RECORD CARD 
Morgue No. 
Dental Chart 
PICTURE OF FACE. MORGUE NUMBER. CONTENTS 
OF POCKETS. JEWELRY, ETC. 
Crown 
Dummy 
Bridge 
On 
Den taro 
Mbataf 
Rjkmaeks: 
10—30148-1 i>. 8. oovhr*«ekt nttm-mc omcc 
Scars, old deformities, and marks 
Clothing, laundry marks, jewelry, etc. 
Disposal: Body— Property— 
Delivered to —: Delivered to 
Place of interment Date 
Date -— - 
RIGHT HAND 
1. Thumb 2. Index Finger 3. Middle Finger 4. Kino Finger E, Little Finger 
LEFT HAND 
6. Thumb 1• Index Finger 8. Middle Finger 9. Ring Finger 19. Little Finger 
dsniinatifnn: i»—aota-t 
FIGURE 2.—IDENTIFICATION RECORD CARD conduct of burial services in accordance with the 
rites of the deceased’s religious denomination. 
The American Flag may be used as a pall at the 
funeral of any civilian, whether a civilian defense 
worker or not, whose death is due to enemy action. 
SPECIAL TREATMENT OF 
GAS-CONTAMINATED BODIES 
The Director of the Emergency Mortuary 
Service should call on the Senior (local) Gas Officer 
for technical advice and assistance in setting up 
procedures for handling bodies contaminated, or 
suspected of contamination, with persistent gases. 
It is important that the identification tag on such 
bodies be distinctively marked “Gas Case” in 
order that persons handling them will be warned 
to give them special treatment. Such bodies 
should be collected and moved only by workers 
wearing protective clothing and masks. All 
clothing and effects should be taken from the body, 
marked for identification, decontaminated, and 
taken to the morgue. The bodies should be 
cleansed by approved methods before being 
admitted to the morgue. This cleansing may be 
performed out of doors or at the regular gas- 
cleansing stations after living casualties have been 
cleansed. Persons undressing and cleansing the 
bodies out of doors need wear only protective 
shoes, gloves, aprons, and gas masks. After 
cleansing, bodies may be admitted to the morgue, 
placed in shrouds, and dealt with in the usual 
way. Persons who have performed these pro- 
cedures must subsequently go through the cleans- 
ing prescribed for decontamination unit members. 
Vehicles used for the collection of such bodies 
should be decontaminated in the same manner as 
vehicles used for the transportation of the wounded. 
EMERGENCY MASS DISPOSAL OF BODIES 
It is desirable to organize existing facilities as 
completely as possible in order to avoid the 
necessity for resorting to mass methods of disposal. 
Only in the event of extremely large numbers of 
casualties, which make usual disposal methods 
impossible, should one of the following methods 
be employed: 
1. Mass burial in a common grave, without 
embalming, in board caskets if available. Pro- 
visional arrangements should be made in advance 
for the production of such caskets. Identification 
tags attached in the reception room of the morgue 
should in all cases remain attached at the time of 
burial so as to facilitate future identification on 
exhumation. A chart should be made of each 
common grave showing the relative locations of 
the bodies by tag number. The common grave 
should be located in an established cemetery. 
2. Mass cremation would be necessary only after 
a great catastrophe, if bodies have remained at the 
scene of disaster for several days and require col- 
lection and cremation as a public health measure. 
Mass disposal of bodies disturbs public morale. 
It should be considered only when there is abso- 
lutely no other alternative. 
CASUALTY REPORTING 
The Casualty Information Service mentioned 
in Medical Division Bulletin No. 4 should have a 
representative in the morgue during periods of 
activity, so that he may prepare and transmit to 
that service the necessary information for compila- 
tion. This information may be transcribed from 
the Morgue Record Book and the Identification 
Record Cards. To insure accuracy, the informa- 
tion should be forwarded to the Casualty Informa- 
tion Service by messenger, not by telephone. To 
reduce confusion at the morgue, mortality lists 
should be released to the public at the Casualty 
Information Service or at police headquarters or 
precinct stations and not at the morgue. 
COMPLETION AND STORAGE OF RECORDS 
The Morgue Recorder shall be responsible for 
the careful completion of all entries in the Morgue 
Record Book and on other information forms. 
After disposal of bodies, the Record Book should 
be retained at the morgue fofr future reference. 
The field casualty identification tags and special 
identification cards of unidentified dead should be 
stapled together and transferred to the custody of 
the police or other authorized officials who will 
make them part of a public file and will continue 
identification efforts. 
B. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1942