Personal Belongings of the Fallen Troops

Tucked away on a sliver of land at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland is a cluster of ordinary-looking, tan-colored buildings encircled by a chain link fence. What goes on inside these buildings, however, is anything but ordinary.

The buildings are home to the Joint Personal Effects Depot, where all the personal belongings of servicemembers killed and wounded during the war on terrorism are meticulously processed before being returned to their families.