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| Welcome Sign to ANC |
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Arlington House during
theCivil War |
What
began as a burial ground during the Civil War in 1864 has become one of our
most revered national cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) in Virginia. But all is not tranquil there.
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| Arlington Graves |
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| Extensive paperwork |
ANC
began making news in 2008 when questions were raised about cemetery
management. Then in 2010 it was
discovered that there were problems with some of the paperwork corresponding with burial
locations. An investigative audit
was scheduled. Two weeks ago, the
findings of this audit concerning improperly marked graves at Arlington made
news. It was reported that
almost 65,0000 graves at ANC may have discrepancies, including graves being
improperly marked, gravesites not found where indicated, and graves left
unmarked. Rectifying the problem will be troublesome since much of the cemetery
paperwork is inaccurate or missing.
Last December the Army announced that a criminal investigation had been launched into the misplacement of remains at Arlington. Then in June 2011 the FBI was requested to assist in the investigation.
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| Thurman Higginbotham |
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| Higginbotham at ANC |
The cemetery’s administrative personnel have been
investigated numerous times by the U.S. Army in the past twenty years. No major actions were taken because, reports indicate that a plan of disciplinary action was never agreed upon. But enough finally became enough. In
May 2009, an Army Criminal Investigative Command investigation announced that
Deputy Cemetery Superintendent Thurman Higginbotham had lied under oath, had
lied to Army investigators about accessing employee’s files, and had engaged in
sexual harassment. Higginbotham was placed on administrative leave.
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| John C. Metzler, Jr. |
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| Metzler with President Bush |
Higginbotham and Cemetery Superintendent, John C.
Metzler, Jr. were also charged with being negligent in refusing to use a
computerized database that would have “triple verified” burial records at
Arlington. Metzler was fired from
his position for improper management of the cemetery. He had held the title of
Cemetery Superintendent for nineteen of those twenty years it was under
scrutiny. Both Metzler and Higginbotham retired with full benefits.
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| A 'problem' grave |
The Army’s ANC Gravesite
Accountability Task Force announced on December 22, 2011, that they had discovered that 211 graves were unmarked or
improperly named. After reviewing
almost 260,000 graves and comparing information to 510,000 records, only
196,000 graves were validated. A count of 64,230 have been discovered to have
problems ranging from minor paperwork errors, to misspelled names on
gravestones, to mislaid bodies, according to their report. That’s about 25% of
the burial sites located in Arlington.
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| Arlington Graves & Flags |
The
Arlington National Cemetery Gravesite Accountability Task Force is now trying
to reconcile records and conducting a physical identification of each grave in
the cemetery. Every marker will be
counted and each headstone will be photographed so that all of Arlington’s
records will be available on one database and act as a reliable record of the
cemetery. That would account for
over 320,000 remains in the 624 acres cemetery. The Task Force expects to have the situation resolved by
summer. While progress is being
made in the Arlington case, it appears that these situations are becoming too prevalent. We must begin holding those
accountable for these “problems” that continue to plague our deceased service
men and women.
~
Joy
