US Army practices digging mass battlefield graves

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(Gray News) - The United States Army is now practicing mass battlefield graves, a practice not done since the Korean War.

The Army reported that soldiers in North Carolina completed a “test-of-concept” exercise for large-scale battlefield temporary interment.

“This exercise allowed us to take a critical look at how we respect, honor, and systematically manage our fallen in a high-intensity conflict,” said Sgt. 1st Class Delbert Ruede, the senior fatality management NCO for the 3rd CSC, in the release.

A U.S. Army D6 bulldozer, operated by horizontal construction engineers from the 20th Engineer... — A U.S. Army D6 bulldozer, operated by horizontal construction engineers from the 20th Engineer Brigade, backfills a simulated temporary interment trench during Phase II of Operation Dragon Covenant near the St. Mere Eglise Drop Zone, Oct. 21, 2026. The test-of-concept exercise, executed by the 3rd Corps Sustainment Command, evaluated the structural impact of heavy earthmoving equipment on remains by placing simulated skeletal models and sealed water containers inside burial bags. Operators practiced casting dirt inward from a 15-foot-wide trench to verify that the gravity fall of displaced soil preserves remains intact for future forensic identification and repatriation, while refining spatial standards for future Army fatality management doctrine. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Thomas McCarty)(Capt. Thomas McCarty | 3rd Corps Sustainment Command)

Each plot is made up of five trenches designed to hold 100 bodies.

During the exercises, soldiers reevaluated Korean War-era practices in how to excavate and backfill the plots without damaging the structure or human remains.

The exercises also provided an opportunity for military chaplains and religious affairs specialists to train for mass-casualty environments.