The Problems At Arlington

A very sad story. When I was in Chicago last week, a big news story was that a group of cemetery employees had removed bodies from graves, piled them in the far reaches, and re-sold the plots. There were bad records, so it was hard to tell exactly where which body was supposed to be. Bad enough at a private cemetery, shocking at our national cemetery.

Wow. This is what the left thinks is evidence that they don't hate the U.S. military? I just ate lunch, so I don't have the stomach to read the latest lunacy at Salon. Therefore, I haven't read this Salon "blockbuster". Does the Salon piece claim that these "600 service members" were driven to alcoholism, racked by psychological ills, homeless, suicidal wife beaters and planning on committing mass murder prior to their deaths? Do Salon and Time magazine expect the United States military to bronze the "personal mementos" and then fasten the "personal mementos" to the graves, so that they are not left "to rot", "ruined" or "thrown away", but remain with the graves until the end of time?

Michael- Matt Taibbi has written a new article on Goldman. Maybe your friend Megan can write another insightful critique on the Sarah Palin of journalism. Snark.

http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/07/16/on-goldmans-giganto-profits/

The expectation is that they could at least keep track of who is in which grave. Maybe you should read the article before commenting on it.

I be hopin' 'eads will be rollin' on this one - not lookin' for'ard t' readin' th' next part t'morrow.

arrgh.

That's horrible... I haven't read the article yet and I'm not sure I will. I am revolted by the simultaneous politicization and neglect of soldiers.

There are no words, sigh...
...except such disrespect is not just limited to one of our most scared grounds. There's also that recent burial scam (reselling old plots, bodies tossed out, literally) at Chicago area cemetary, most victims minorities. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-burr-oak-cemetery-jul13,0,737302.story
Hopefully the military grounds never go that far....

Kind o' related - one o' me progeny who be in th' military were visitin' Arlington a few weeks ago an' went t' th' Tomb of the Unknowns.

'e were appalled.

'e said people thar were laughin' an' talkin' an' eatin' an' drinkin' (not alcohol) ri' thar A' TH' TOMB, DURIN' th' guard change!

'e also said lots were dressed like bums - no attempt a'tall t' dress 'r comport wi' th' respect deserved.

So it be no' just th' Army, 'r DOD lackin' respect fer our most hallowed burial ground, it be lots o' reg'lar, Real Americans, too!

YARR an' a pox on 'em all!

Sorry - I weren't meanin' t' say th' Army 'r DOD in general be no' havin' respect - I be knowin' tha' no' be true, an' tha' it be an isolated bunch a' th' cemetery.

I should'a been more careful wi' me wordin'.

arrgh.

Um, don't you have to pick one of these: "...personal mementos placed on graves are left out to rot in the rain for days, ruined by workers with power washers, or thrown into a trash bin"? Or perhaps we can create a storage facility where we can also try to keep and inventory all of the personal mementos too.

I have family in Arlington and have always found it, from first contact after death on, to be about as well-run and tidy as anything that large and busy, in spite of using only paper records.

One more thing. Maybe Benjamin can tell us how many people and tour buses go through Spring Grove Cemetery on a weekend.

A piece like this will probably result in positive reforms, new leadership, better record-keeping, better policies. I see plenty to get outraged about, but the quote you highlighted, Michael, is the least of it.

I read a long piece some years back about the what happens to the items and mementos left at the VietNam Veterans' Memorial. It is really a massive problem.

On the surface, it seems outrageous that "personal mementos placed on graves are left out to rot in the rain for days" but wasn't that the intent of the loved one who placed it there, without the hyperbole? In the piece I read, the stuff that is left at the VVM is collected, cataloged and stored, and there are millions of items by now. Some of the items are of great value, some of little value except to the placer, some items are extraordinary and unusual, most are quite ordinary. Sometimes it is obvious for whom the object is placed, most times it is not. There are cards, rings, letters, items of clothing, cigarettes, medals. In the storage area there are some unusual items on display, but most go into storage boxes never to see the light of day. Having started the collection and storage, they cannot stop.

Do you save the cards, the love letters? the wedding bands? The vase that once held a single rose? The Purple Heart? The Bronze Star? I have no answer for that, and the story didn't either. I'm just saying, it's kind of glib to write that kind of outraged statement without thinking through what *should* be done and what *could* be done. Did the placer of the item mean for it to be picked up at the end of the day, tagged and cataloged and stored in a massive warehouse for eternity? I doubt it.

Doesn't surprise me. Just judging by the poor upkeep of the house (especially compared to the meticulous perfection of Mt Vernon) I am not at all surprised that they do a bad job with the upkeep of the rest of the cemetery.