Noteboom The Law Firm

New Bill Forces Army to Account For Arlington Cemetery Graves

December 23, 2010 - The House passed a bill last week that already passed through the Senate. The bill calls for the Secretary of the Army to prepare and deliver to Congress a full, detailed list of every cemetery plot, which currently number 320,000, at Arlington National Cemetery.

Over the last year, a history of problems involving horrible mismanagement, mislaid human remains, and questionable contracts with private service providers have come to light. The legislation, which was spawned by the scandals, focuses on the contracts and control of the cemetery. These contracts were awarded to companies responsible for taking the cemetery's outdated paper records and making them digital. Further, it demands a study be undertaken to establish if the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should assume command of the cemetery.  

An Army Inspector General's report discovered over 200 either incorrectly or unmarked graves spread over the cemetery. To make matters worse, the report detailed how 4 urns were dug up and for some reason, emptied into the dirt. Since that report was issued in June, the problems have continued. In one instance, 8 separate cremated remains were combined in one grave.

Once passed into law, this bill will establish Congressional oversight into this area. The discovered problems, and those that likely exist but have not been discovered yet, must be corrected as quickly as possible.