Army secretary orders Arlington Cemetery probe

[unhappycamper]

Army secretary orders Arlington Cemetery probe
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 13, 2009 17:37:52 EST

Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced Friday that he has ordered an investigation into allegations of lost accountability of some graves, poor record keeping and other issues at Arlington National Cemetery.

“As the final resting place of our nation’s heroes, any questions about the integrity or accountability of operations should be examined in a matter befitting their service and sacrifice,” McHugh said after signing an order directing the Army Inspector General to begin investigating allegations regarding cemetery operations.

McHugh’s order comes amid revelations that cemetery workers inadvertently buried cremated remains at a gravesite that was already in use. The error was discovered in May 2008 and cemetery officials took immediate corrective measures, moving the cremated remains to another gravesite and remarking the original grave.

Since then, questions have been raised over whether cemetery officials used proper procedures to correct the mistake, including notifying the next of kin.

The investigation ordered by McHugh follows a separate internal investigation by the Military District of Washington over the discovery of an unmarked grave.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/army_arlington_111309w/