The burials of more than 200 veterans in the nation’s hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery was mishandled, with remains misidentified or misplaced, according to an Army investigation.
The findings have led to the two civilians in charge of running the cemetery being forced out, according to Pentagon officials.
Because of poor management, Pentagon officials can’t say for sure who is buried in 211 graves at the cemetery, which holds the remains of about 300,000 American veterans from the Civil War through Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as presidents and national leaders.
At a Pentagon press briefing Thursday, Secretary of the Army John McHugh apologized to families of veterans buried at Arlington and said “the findings in this report are deeply troubling and simply unacceptable.”
After describing shoddy record keeping and maintenance practices, McHugh vowed, “That all ends today.”
McHugh announced the appointment of Kathryn Condon to the newly created position of executive director of the Army National Cemeteries Program, which will put her in charge of Arlington. She was previously the highest-ranking civilian at the Army Materiel Command.
Army Inspector General R. Steven Whitcomb led the probe into the cemetery’s mishandling of remains. He said investigators expect to find more than the 211 cases of mislabeled remains uncovered so far.
The majority of cases uncovered so far were in sections that did not include casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan, Whitcomb said. But there were at least two mismarked graves in a section reserved for service members killed in those wars.
It is too early to say whether the ongoing investigation would require exhuming any remains, Whitcomb said.
McHugh also announced the creation of an Army National Cemeteries Advisory Commission to review polices and procedures. Former U.S. senators and wounded war veterans Max Cleland and Bob Dole will head the advisory board.
“Arlington National Cemetery is the place where valor rests, a place of reverence and respect for all Americans,” McHugh said. “The Army recognizes its sacred responsibility to ensure America’s confidence in the operation of its most hallowed ground, and to the heroes for whom this is their final resting place. I believe these changes will do just that.”
