(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a
letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Eric Shinseki to express her dismay over the mishandling of graves at Arlington
National Cemetery. This letter follows an investigation conducted by the Department of the Army Inspector
General that found over 200 mismarked graves at the National Cemetery. The letter
asks Arlington National Cemetery to immediately remedy this problem and urges
the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to examine their procedures and
practices to ensure the burials of our fallen servicemen and women are always
handled with the care they deserve.
“In the coming days, I expect that every family whose loved ones’
gravesites was mishandled will be notified of the situation and what has been
done to correct the problem,” Senator Murray wrote. “And in the longer-term, I strongly believe it behooves the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to review their
standard operating procedures and practices at cemeteries nationwide to ensure
these burials are always properly handled.”
The full text of the letter appears below:
The Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon Room 3E970
Washington, DC 20301-1000
The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue NW Room 1000
Washington, DC 20420
Dear Secretary Gates and Secretary Shinseki:
I am writing to you about my concerns regarding the mishandling of
graves at Arlington National Cemetery. I was appalled to discover that
the leadership at the Arlington Cemetery has neglected their responsibility to
the men and women who have served our country so well. As I am sure you
agree, we owe our servicemembers and their families the most exacting attention
to detail when burying and honoring the remains of our national heroes.
The Arlington National Cemetery investigation completed by the
Department of the Army Inspector General (DAIG) is truly disturbing. It
identifies 211 mismarked graves at Arlington National Cemetery, and presents
the possibility that many more may exist. It also describes a hostile
work environment and persistent poor communications that contributed to the
gravesite mismanagement. I appreciate that Secretary McHugh has taken
prompt corrective action with the Arlington National Cemetery leadership and
has promised to personally provide future oversight. I also
recognize that the DAIG report deals solely with issues related to Arlington
National Cemetery. But as the consequences of getting this wrong are so
painful for the families of the fallen, and so disrespectful to the memories of
our veterans, I seek additional assurances that this will never happen in the
future at Arlington National Cemetery or any other national cemetery.
In the coming days, I expect that every family whose loved ones’
gravesites was mishandled will be notified of the situation and what has been
done to correct the problem. And in the longer-term, I strongly believe
it behooves the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to
review their standard operating procedures and practices at cemeteries
nationwide to ensure these burials are always properly handled. I
respectfully request a detailed response on what safeguards are currently in
place and where improvements could be made at national cemeteries under your
authorities. I would also like to know if you believe legislative action
is needed to ensure that national cemeteries are properly managed and
gravesites adequately cared for.
I look forward to working with you to ensure that the remains of
our national heroes are managed and handled with the respect, dignity and
meticulous care they deserve. Thank you for your attention and I look forward
to your response.
Patty
Murray
United States
Senator
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