Discarded headstones at Arlington
Following the news that Arlington National Cemetary was generally mismanaged by the people we hired to take care of our most honored citizens, the Washington Post has additionally discovered evidence of more disturbing news. A couple of piles of headstones have been found in creek beds ion the former plantation of Robert E. Lee.
On Wednesday, after The Washington Post alerted the cemetery to their presence, officials there said they were shocked to find the gravestones lying in the muck near a maintenance yard. Already under fire in recent days for more than 200 unmarked or misidentified graves and a chaotic and dysfunctional management system, cemetery officials vowed to investigate the headstones along the stream and take “immediate corrective action,” said Kaitlin Horst, a cemetery spokeswoman.
Officials said they do not know how the stones got there, whom they belong to, or how old they are. Horst could say only that “they appear to be decades old.”
Doug Sterner (who sent us the picture and the link) and the Washington Post are asking us to put out our feelers and see if we can identify this particular hero whose name is obscured by decades of water damage. The symbol at the top of the headstone was discontinued in the early 80s, so you may know him or of him.
It is worn and faded but seems to identify the person as a Navy captain, whose name is something like J. Warren McLaughlin.
Or is it L. Warren McLaughel?
If you have any idea who this might be, email me or the author of the WaPo article.
Category: Media, Military issues
Sad. Too sad.
As I said before, hire the honorably-discharged vet, from the top down to the bottom up. Allow the military to take care of their own. Things will be done right.
I posted in the first ANC mismanagement entry about the broken stones behind Lodge 2. I recall seeing other stones discarded in odd places as well. I believe I still have some photos on the computer at home.
I think the term “mismanagement” would only cover honest mistakes.
I haven’t been able to think of a term sufficiently outraged enough to cover the actions highlighted by the picture above…
I agree BW, by and large most of us were only able to rely on each other during our periods of service, it’s fitting that we should rely on each other after that ultimate sacrifice.
I really have a hard time wrapping my head around what’s been discovered.
Yeah, Woodman and Jocobite, I have to agree with ya on this. We can only trust ourselves to look out for each other, I guess. As always, we can’t trust the government to look out for us.
You’re correct, Pinto, mismanagement doesn’t begin to define this.
I’m just sick about this. Words can’t adaquetly describe what I think about this.
There are a couple of things that we can all do that might help this situation, though:
1.) Tell everyone you know about this.
2.) If you have anyone buried at Arlington, check everything you can on the handling/burial of your loved one.
We’ll have to be the ones to fix this. As usual.
Let me start with agreeing that this is unconscionable.
Now I’ll pick a scab.
B Woodman said we should “…hire the honorably-discharged vet, from the top down to the bottom up.”
Great idea, but wouldn’t they, then, just become government employees? I thought we hate government employees (even though I are one…)? How many of the workers there already ARE honorably discharged? I don’t know, but bet there is a significant number.
It has been posited on this and other blogs that government employees are all a burden to the country and should be reviled, nay, fired. Or at least paid less than anyone in the private sector, regardless of their past service, education, technical qualifications, exemplary performance, etc. Did I miss something?
I would also point out that the recent problems at Walter Reed were laid at the feet of the military commander and staff. The commander, MG Weightman, was relieved. It was widely reported as a case of the military not taking care of it’s own. As far as Arlington goes, John Metzler Jr., Arlington’s superintendent, and his deputy, Thurman Higginbotham were stripped of their their authority. At least one of them may face charges.
Perhaps it would be better to find out what really happened at Arlington, who’s responsible, and smoke those specific people in place?
Just sayin’.
Discarded grave markers aren’t necessarily bad. I’ve seen before where several were found only discarded by the stone mason for having a mistake or imperfection. It was more common years ago. Before the age of instant media and irritatingly over political correctness.
2549 says what i immediately thought. Maybe the stones were “mistakes” and were thrown away. I hope that is the case.
A widow of a veteran would make a good person to have in a management position at Arlington. My hope is that these headstones were imperfect and therefore discarded. Though I’d like to think there is a less trashy way of doing so.