Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington officials can’t get their stories straight
Nov 5th
The superintendent says he may have been absent when remains were moved, but an
employee’s log says otherwise
By Mark Benjamin–Salon.com–
Editor’s note: This story is part of a special Salon investigation of problems at Arlington National Cemetery.The top official at Arlington National Cemetery claims he was unaware of the most recently reported burial error at the cemetery, possibly, he says, because he was away at the time it occurred. Cemetery employee records, however, show Superintendent John Metzler present and working at Arlington when the cemetery discovered this most recently disclosed burial foul-up, which resulted in digging up and moving the remains of one service member the cemetery had accidentally buried on top of another.
Arlington officials also continue to struggle to locate key paperwork that must be completed when remains are moved. The paperwork would confirm that Grabe’s remains were moved and explain the circumstances surrounding that decision. The Army, which oversees Arlington, has been unable to locate any such documents.
The still-missing burial paperwork adds to the mounting evidence suggesting that top Arlington officials may have disregarded cemetery rules in this case. The explanation from Metzler, meanwhile, raises serious questions about the conduct of top cemetery officials with respect to repeated burial mix-ups at Arlington. Cemetery officials have already established a pattern of incomplete, inconsistent or contradictory responses when asked by Salon to account for misplaced or misidentified remains at the cemetery.
Popularity: 8% [?]
More misplaced remains at Arlington National Cemetery
Nov 2nd
What happened to Master Sgt. Marion Grabe, says a source, is a clue “that there
may be thousands of these problems”
By Mark Benjamin–Salon.com–
Editor’s note: This story is part of a special Salon investigation of problems at Arlington National Cemetery.
Air Force Master Sgt. Marion Grabe passed away on Christmas day in 2007. She had served 26 years as an operating room nurse in the Air Force she loved, including 17 months in a Manila hospital treating wounded soldiers during the Vietnam War.
In death, Grabe wanted to mark her service to her country with a suitably honorable burial at Arlington National Cemetery. “She wanted to be buried there so bad,” recalled Grabe’s sister, Dorothy Nolte. Thinking of the fiasco that ensued with Grabe’s burial at Arlington, Nolte added sadly, “She deserved better.”
On Jan. 28, 2008, the cemetery interred Grabe’s cremated remains in the wrong plot, on top of the casket of another deceased service member. The Army then moved Grabe’s remains without requesting permission from Nolte, her next of kin — despite cemetery regulations urging efforts to obtain permission from family — but later claimed to Salon that it had notified the next of kin. The official who moved Grabe without family approval is the same official who may bear primary responsibility for the poor record keeping at the cemetery, which has already resulted in at least one “unknown” grave, as previously documented by Salon, in a cemetery that is supposed to have no new “unknowns.” And the mistake is part of a pattern of errors at the cemetery, where several current and former cemetery employees tell Salon there may be a large number of similarly misplaced remains.
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Breaking News-’Grave Offenses’ at Arlington National Cemetary?
Oct 16th
Interesting facts are surfacing in regards to our Crown Jewel of cemeteries. The Virginia
Veteran has recieved this inside information from a very close source–astonishing also be sure to watch the MSNBC special that just aired! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/vp/33325084#33325084
1. June 2008 Gina Gray fired as ANC PAO after complaining to Army officials and Senator John Warner about media access restrictions and contract improprieties. Filed EEO complaint in May 2008. The Army eventually changed media procedures at ANC and Dover AFB after resulting pressure from families and the media.
2. October 2008 Army CID initiates criminal investigation into wire fraud, illegal use of gov’t computer.
3. October 2008 DoD Inspector General’s office initiates investigation into wrongful termination of Gina Gray.
4. May 2009 Army DoD IG completes investigation. Report turned in “for review.” Review is still ongoing.
5. May 2009 Army CID concludes that wire fraud was committed by cemetery officials and that Thurman Higginbotham, Deputy Superintendent of ANC made false statements. He is still employed by the Army.
6. July 2009 reports in Salon.com show that Thurman Higginbotham was at the center of contract fraud/iimproprieties. Reports resulted in the arrest of Bobbie Garrett, a contractor at ANC was was wanted on 15 counts of child sexual molestation. Reports all show that Thurman Higginbotham was convicted of two felony crimes in the early 90’s-while employed as a high-level gov’t official.
7. July 2009 reports in Salon.com showed that ANC could not accurately account for the burial of bodies. In a 2008 report to Congress, ANC officials admit to not knowing if their burial records were accurate, including in Section 60. After initial denials of one particular grave, ANC officials admitted to not knowing the identity of the remains of at least one gravesite.
8. Sept 2009 report in Salon.com showed that over 5 million dollars have been spent on updating and computerizing the burial records system at ANC, but have yet to show anything for it. Investigation shows that Thurman Higginbotham has been awarding contracts to the same group of individuals who just leave one company, start a new one, receive money and don’t provide the service they were paid for.
9. In June, the IT manager left the cemetery over a dispute with Higginbotham about the legality of his practices dealing with sensitive, private information on Army computers. The IT manager voiced his complaints to the MDW Commanding General, BG Karl Horst, but got no response.
Additional Articles
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070902169.html
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/16/arlington_national_cemetery/
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/17/arlington_gravesites/index.html
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/21/arlington_secrets/
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/29/arlington/
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/08/10/arlington/
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/08/11/arlington/
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/08/14/arlington/
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/09/29/arlington_contracts/
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/10/07/arlington_cemetery/
Popularity: 23% [?]
