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This pisses me off on a visceral level
A shocking discovery at a Florida cemetery has sparked outrage and may lead to a new bill.
Less than a week after the nation honoured war veterans in Memorial Day celebrations the remains of one war hero have been found crammed inside a cardboard box, buried in a shallow grave.
Lawrence Davis Jr, a World War II vet, died in 2004 but with no family to take care of funeral arrangements he was given a makeshift, undignified burial, without a casket.
Workers at the Florida National Cemetery uncovered the controversy when they removed a headstone for maintenance work.
Headstones go down two feet into the ground and when Davis' was removed they found what was left of his cardboard casket as well as human remains.
It is not known how many more may have been buried in this way.
Veterans Affairs manager Maurice Roan told myfoxtampabay.com: ‘We usually bury the container they come in as long as its sealed. We make every effort to make sure they get a dignified burial.’
The medical examiner had sent Davis’ remains in a cardboard box and it was simply placed in the ground.
Maurice said that a quarterly service is held for all veterans without family to bury them, with their names read out but that is where it ends.
Special direction to purchase caskets for deceased veterans would take an act of Congress.
Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio are both supporting a new bill called The Dignified Burial of Veterans Act of 2012, co-sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
If passed it would require the VA to review its burial standards, and give it authority to buy caskets or urns for all veterans in national cemeteries.
‘We're not going to treat the veterans of this country that way,’ Nelson said. ‘We're going to ensure there is a dignified burial.’
A shocking discovery at a Florida cemetery has sparked outrage and may lead to a new bill.
Less than a week after the nation honoured war veterans in Memorial Day celebrations the remains of one war hero have been found crammed inside a cardboard box, buried in a shallow grave.
Lawrence Davis Jr, a World War II vet, died in 2004 but with no family to take care of funeral arrangements he was given a makeshift, undignified burial, without a casket.
Workers at the Florida National Cemetery uncovered the controversy when they removed a headstone for maintenance work.
Headstones go down two feet into the ground and when Davis' was removed they found what was left of his cardboard casket as well as human remains.
It is not known how many more may have been buried in this way.
Veterans Affairs manager Maurice Roan told myfoxtampabay.com: ‘We usually bury the container they come in as long as its sealed. We make every effort to make sure they get a dignified burial.’
The medical examiner had sent Davis’ remains in a cardboard box and it was simply placed in the ground.
Maurice said that a quarterly service is held for all veterans without family to bury them, with their names read out but that is where it ends.
Special direction to purchase caskets for deceased veterans would take an act of Congress.
Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio are both supporting a new bill called The Dignified Burial of Veterans Act of 2012, co-sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
If passed it would require the VA to review its burial standards, and give it authority to buy caskets or urns for all veterans in national cemeteries.
‘We're not going to treat the veterans of this country that way,’ Nelson said. ‘We're going to ensure there is a dignified burial.’
Does every incident have to lead to more government oversight?
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