202 veterans headstones stolen; guilty plea expected

[Forever_frost]

Again, if those markers were erased or destroyed to chips and then sold, I'd have no issue. As they are still carrying the name of the deceased, I have an issue.

So you agree that if he went around to veteran hospitals and explained the reasonableness of his actions, veterans would be perfectly okay with what he did?

[ceyko]

Not changing any minds here, but he was wrong. Plain and simple...

http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/replacements.asp

Headstones and markers previously furnished by the Government may be replaced at Government expense if badly deteriorated, illegible, stolen or vandalized. We may also replace the new (or modern) headstone or marker if the inscription is incorrect, if it was damaged during shipping, or if the material or workmanship does not meet contract specifications. Please note that historic headstones (those greater than 50 years of age) will not be replaced to correct inscription inaccuracies based on modern research; requests for replacement of historic headstones will only be honored when inscriptions are worn to the point that they can no longer be read or if the headstone is otherwise damaged beyond repair.

If a Government headstone or marker in a private cemetery is damaged by cemetery personnel, the cemetery should pay all replacement costs.

Marble and granite headstones or markers that are permanently removed from a grave must be destroyed, ensuring that the inscription is no longer legible. Bronze markers must be returned to the contractor.

For guidance on obtaining a replacement headstone or marker, you may call the Memorial Programs Service Applicant Assistance Unit between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, at the toll-free number below:

Yeah, it's not a death sentence offense - but it DOES matter more to some than to others.

[Big A]

He re-tiled floors with them, do you think he simply laid down whole headstones like pavers with the neames up, creating his very own Hollywood style walk of fame? Would it make you feel better to know that he cut them up into smaller tiles, and in the process destroyed the inscriptions?

He re-purposed trash, plain and simple, and likely saved the tax-payers some money in doing so.

[Forever_frost]

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/a-missouri-patio-paved-in-military-headstones-veterans-mad-va/article_d6e9e745-ab01-5627-992f-c80bd391e379.html

A Missouri patio paved in military headstones? Veterans mad, VA investigating
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10 hours ago • By Tim O'Neil
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A Facebook post showing how military headstones were apparently used as pavers has been shared thousands of times.
(2) More Photos

A patio and staircase apparently built out of military gravestones at a property in southern Missouri has sparked a firestorm of criticism on social media.

Navy veteran Ed Harkreader of Mountain Home, Ark., posted photographs of the arrangement on Facebook last week. The post triggered scores of outraged comments and was shared thousands of times.

“This isn’t the way you should use military headstones,” Harkreader told the Post-Dispatch in a telephone interview Monday. “This is disrespectful of military veterans.”

Harkreader, 55, said he served in the Navy for 22 years. He said he heard about the use of the stones from a friend and drove the short distance from his home in Arkansas to the property in Ozark County, Mo. The property is near Lake Norfork just north of the Missouri-Arkansas line.

Harkreader took pictures and tried without success to reach the property owner. His photographs show a patio and staircase fashioned from what appear to be military headstones, some with the names of veterans and spouses clearly visible. A check of Internet grave services indicates that some of the stones were for grave sites in California, Alabama and Texas.

Chris Erbe, a spokesman for the National Cemetery Administration in Washington, said officials heard about the matter from Harkreader’s Facebook posting. The inspector general’s office of the Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating the report, Erbe said.

It’s not clear where the stones came from. Markers are sometimes inscribed with errors or typos and are supposed to be destroyed. Often stones are replaced rather than re-inscribed when spouses die and are buried at the same location. Older military headstones sometimes are replaced, Erbe said, but the old stones are supposed to be destroyed.

“They are not to be used for any kind of home improvement project,” he said.

The markers in Harkreader’s photos appear to be relatively new, with several showing death dates in the 2000s.

Harkreader’s posting drew numerous angry replies, some of which suggested solving the matter violently. Harkreader said he was distressed by those comments but wanted the stones removed and properly disposed of.

Grave markers have shown up where they don’t belong before. Last month a former employee of the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery was arraigned in federal court, accused of theft of government property for taking discarded grave stones and using them to pave his carport, according to media reports. Authorities suspected he had been taking them home a few stones at a time over several years.

[CexMashean]

Not a fan of being able to see the names on the stones, but this is still pretty high on my "don't give a fuck, isn't newsworthy" list.

[Forever_frost]

Evidently the guy says he found them in a landfill and is going to pull them up. The VA is concerned and is looking into it. These stones should be broken into rubble and destroyed. No one should be able to build a walkway and walk on the names of the fallen. It's disrespectful

[CexMashean]

Kind of like building homes and housing complexes on what used to be native american burial land, right?

[ceyko]

Kind of like building homes and housing complexes on what used to be native american burial land, right?

Yup and I personally would not want my home on land like that. Trying to ascertain your point.

[racrguy]

Who gives a fuck? Something about mountains and molehills go here.

[CexMashean]

Evidently the guy says he found them in a landfill and is going to pull them up. The VA is concerned and is looking into it. These stones should be broken into rubble and destroyed. No one should be able to build a walkway and walk on the names of the fallen. It's disrespectful

What should they do with the remains of the rubble? Shit won't just disappear like it never existed.

[BradM]

Evidently the guy says he found them in a landfill and is going to pull them up. The VA is concerned and is looking into it. These stones should be broken into rubble and destroyed. No one should be able to build a walkway and walk on the names of the fallen. It's disrespectful

Where does it say that in the Constitution?





Just messing with you. Carry on.

[Forever_frost]

Where does it say that in the Constitution?





Just messing with you. Carry on.

Meet me at Jack in the Box in Paris in 20 minutes. I'll bring a copy and we can discuss it at length.

[ceyko]

Who gives a fuck? Something about mountains and molehills go here.

Note the first post was militarytimes.com and the other was a local news thing for St Louis...

At least some military and veterans care. Feel free to move a long, plenty of crud posted on this board and it's all easily ignored.

I can easily understand your position though. Fact is it'll be old news, no shit will come of it and all that.

[CexMashean]

Note the first post was militarytimes.com and the other was a local news thing for St Louis...

At least some military and veterans care. Feel free to move a long, plenty of crud posted on this board and it's all easily ignored.

I can easily understand your position though. Fact is it'll be old news, no shit will come of it and all that.

It's the equivalent of some lgbt or some other person on the opposite side of the spectrum getting all worked up over nothing, like a bar or restaurant not letting them use the other gender's restroom.

Thats how much of a non-issue this is.

[Forever_frost]

I've been doing some reading on this, seems someone who knows the homeowner said he was a bit touched and had no idea it was wrong. They were set aside as scrap, being a bit too short or misspelled and people in the area were told they could have the scrap as they wanted. He just thought they looked pretty.