FBI investigates Arlington National Cemetery’s mess

Here is the deal: If you serve or served the United States military, you may be eligible to be buried at our nation’s most elite military cemetery, Arlington National. Unfortunately, Arlington National Cemetery has not kept up its end of the bargain. It has been widely reported that numerous bodies have been buried under the wrong marker at the cemetery. Bodies have been discovered in unmarked mass graves. And now, the Washington Post reports:

The Justice Department [and the FBI are] investigating the mishandling of remains at Arlington National Cemetery in a broad criminal inquiry that is also seeking evidence of possible contracting fraud and falsification of records, people familiar with the investigation said Tuesday.

It appears that the Feds are looking to find some individuals criminally responsible for this disaster. On top of this criminal probe, Congress is conducting its own investigation. Last year, Congress passed a law to require Arlington National Cemetery to identify the remains in all of its 330,000 graves.

Perhaps, the government is overreacting to this crisis and should instead choose to direct its scarce resources toward programs that benefit the living.  But, I don’t think so.  I hope they figure out who is buried in every grave and severely punish the individuals responsible for mishandling the soldiers’ remains.

Photo courtesy of:  Phil Ostroff

~ by siouxsielaw on June 29, 2011.