US military veterans outraged over mishaps at national cemetery

Jul 30, 2010, 21:31 GMT

Washington - US military veterans on Friday expressed outrage over the mismanagement of grave sites at Arlington National Cemetery, the nation's most sacred burial ground.

That anger was sparked by revelations by a US senator that there could be more than 6,000 graves that have been misidentified or misplaced at Arlington, which lies near the Pentagon just outside of Washington.

A spokesman for the American Legion, which advocates for military veterans, said the organization is 'outraged' by the lack of supervision and 'obvious mismanagement' of the cemetery.

'This is a slap in the face to all who have served in the United States military forces, not just in the present but in the past as well,' he told the German Press Agency dpa. 'It's unconscionable.'

The mismanagement at the cemetery first emerged in June when an internal Army investigation found more than 200 cases of graves that were misplaced or misidentified, or problems with incomplete records. Coffins had been moved and headstones were in the incorrect location.

But Senator Claire McCaskill, who chairs a committee looking into the issue, said there could be up to 6,600 graves that are unmarked or mislabeled on maps.

The Army investigation attributed the problems to the use of antiquated systems as well as problems that arise with maintaining a cemetery that is 140 years old. The two civilians who had been in charge of Arlington have been forced to retire.

Arlington National Cemetery is the most treasured in the United States, containing more than 330,000 graves of America's war dead, veterans, presidents and other dignitaries. It opened in 1864, one year prior to the end of the Civil War.