More questions raised at Arlington
More questions raised at Arlington
The Army is investigating the possibility that a single grave at Arlington National Cemetery was used as a dumping site for a number of cremated remains that had been improperly dug up.The discovery of eight urns or containers in a plot that was supposed to contain a single set of remains that had been identified as "Unknown" on the headstone set off the criminal investigation.Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command, told the New York Times, the discovery in October of so many remains raised questions beyond those of sloppy management identified in a year-long Inspector General’s report on cemetery operations. "You don’t just take remains and bury them anywhere you want."Military forensics experts have identified three sets of remains, and the Army is notifying families. Work continues on trying to identify the others, but DNA identification will be difficult because the remains are ash and bone.The original set of "Unknown" remains at the site had been discovered several years earlier in a landfill and returned to the cemetery for reburial.Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., chairman of an oversight subcommittee investigating conditions at Arlington, noted the Senate had passed a bill Dec. 3, the same day as the investigation was announced, that codified reforms concerning the cemetery’s management and operations.In a release, she said, "I am outraged at the problems that continue to surface at Arlington Cemetery. The families that have loved ones at Arlington Cemetery deserve so much better than this. These are our heroes. This is the most sacred ground we have in the United States."Adding, "This legislation will help hold the folks at Arlington accountable for their progress in identifying and fixing any errors in the burial records, changing the way they manage contracts, and for their efforts to reach out to families who are suffering from this unnecessary heartbreak."