Army Report: Up to 64,000 Graves at Arlington Misidentified or Misplaced
- Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:18am by
Tiffany Gabbay
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ARLINGTON, Va. (The Blaze/AP) — Thousands of grave markers at Arlington National Cemetery may need to be replaced or added to accurately account for the dead, following a meticulous Army review of each of the nearly 260,000 headstones and niche covers on the grounds.
In a report to Congress on Thursday, the Army found potential discrepancies between headstones and cemetery paperwork on about 64,000 grave markers – about one in four.
Congress ordered the review last year following reports of misidentified and misplaced graves that led to the ouster of the cemetery’s top executives.
The report found no further evidence of misplaced graves, though it cautioned that its review is not complete and that some errors could have gone undetected.
There are potentially thousands of minor errors, including misspelled names, or incorrect military ranks and dates of birth and death.
The Army compared information on every headstone to its internal records, scouring handwritten logs of the dead from the Civil War and a hodgepodge of other records to verify accuracy.
In an interview, the cemetery’s executive director, Kathryn Condon, said reviews are ongoing and it’s premature to try to estimate exactly how many headstones may need replacement.
To be sure, many of the 64,000 discrepancies will turn up no problem with a headstone – it may be as simple as a typo on an internal record. And in many cases, the discrepancies are not errors at all but reflect past practices at the cemetery that are now considered outdated.
One of the biggest surprises uncovered by the review was that in most of the early 20th century, the cemetery did not include the name of a wife on a headstone when she was buried next to her husband. Under current practices, the name of the spouse is etched onto the back of the headstone.
Condon said the cemetery will correct that by adding the spouse’s name to the gravesite. She said it is not only the right thing to do but is also required by law.
Accounting for the forgotten spouses alone will require thousands of corrections, officials said. In some cases, replacement headstones will be made. In cases where the headstones are considered historic, footstones will be added.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who was critical of the old management team and has been supportive of Condon’s reform efforts, said the cemetery “is now a turnaround story. After we uncovered chronic managerial failure and demanded comprehensive reforms from a new leadership team, I am pleased to receive this report that shows great progress and lays out a plan to finish the job.”
But Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the report “raises more questions than it answers,” particularly with the ultimate disposition of those 64,000 discrepancies. He said that while Condon has worked hard to improve management at the cemetery, he is not convinced that the cemetery has fixed its data-management problems. Warner had asked a consortium of northern Virginia technology companies to help the cemetery get a data-management plan in place, and he wants further assurances that the Army took the help that was offered on a pro bono basis.
The Army and a team of 70 analysts are undertaking painstaking reviews of every case where they find a potential discrepancy to ensure that records are made accurate. Those reviews are expected to be completed in the summer.
The process began with a hand count, using simple mechanical clickers, of every gravesite – 259,978 to be exact. (More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington, but some grave markers have two or more names.) Then, during the summer, members of the Army’s ceremonial Old Guard unit used iPhones to photograph the front and back of every headstone, so the information could be compared against internal records.
Officials cited Christian Keiner, a Civil War veteran from New York who died in 1919, as a typical example. The headstone reflected only his name, but internal records showed that his wife, Caroline Keiner, had also been buried there in 1915. In addition, the internal records spelled Caroline Keiner’s name as “Kiner.” Officials reviewed handwritten Census records from 1900 and Civil war-era military and pension records to confirm that “Keiner” was indeed the correct spelling.
The Keiners’ great-granddaughter, 52-year-old Cee Cee Molineaux of Annapolis, Md., was shocked to learn the story of her ancestors Thursday when reached by phone by The Associated Press. She had only passing knowledge of her great-grandparents, and no idea her great-grandfather served in the Civil War. She was gratified that the cemetery is making efforts to commemorate the resting place of her great-grandmother.
“It’s absolutely meaningful to me – not just because she’s an ancestor but just for women in general. To not have their final resting place acknowledged is kind of sad,” said Molineaux, who now works for the American Red Cross.
John Schrader, co-chair of the Gravesite Accountability Task Force, said recordkeeping methods varied widely over the cemetery’s 147-year history, from handwritten logs to index cards, to typewritten forms and two different computer databases. That sometimes compounded problems, as transcription errors were common. To avoid those problems, all of the old records have been scanned and digitized, rather than transcribed, to avoid introducing further errors, he said.
The sheer size of the cemetery also made the task difficult. It is the second-largest cemetery in the country as well as a tourist site that draws more than 4 million visitors a year, all while conducting nearly 30 burials a day, some with full military honors.
The most significant part of the review, Condon said, is that the cemetery for the first time has a single, reliable database that will allow officials to fix past mistakes and plan for the future.
The cemetery is currently testing an interactive, web-based version of its database that will allow visitors to click on a digital map to see gravesites and learn who is buried there, ensuring the cemetery’s records are open and accessible going forward.
“We’ll have 300 million American fact-checkers,” Schrader said.
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Comments (36)
VoteBushIn12
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:09pmMy Face When I see people presume the mistakes happened under this administration.
Affirmative Action?
Liberals?
Arlington Cemetery has been around for over 140 years, I am certain all 65,000 errors did not happen in the last 3 years. Stop blaming Obama and his administration for everything.
Report Post »Ironeagle
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:06pmWhat bunch of f-ups.
Report Post »EchoHawk
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 12:18pmCurious, I see a bunch of suggestions to volunteer, yet no one actually stepping forward. Must be a bunch of conservatives blowing smoke. Either make it rain or get back on the porch.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 12:00pmThe US government can do nothing right. They cannot even put names on gravemarkers correctly. Affrimative action at it’s finest. It is no wonder the post office is caving in.
Report Post »netmail
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 12:57pmDoes anyone know how well they kept track of American casualties in WWI and II?? Sometimes thousands of dead per DAY and the main record-keeping technology was pencil and paper. Something tells me they did a much better job in those days…for two main reasons….Pride and Respect. (which is sadly lacking in today’s culture) Our govt reps and workers today disgust me.
Report Post »sjohn70037
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 11:45amI tell you the United States Government, as it sits today, is incapable of doing ANYTHING correctly. The only thing more dangerous that our pos elected officials, Republican and Democrat, are the bureaucrats.
Keep you powder dry.
Report Post »watashbuddyfriend
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 10:04amJust curious, how do we know Up to 64,000 Graves… are/were misidentified, etc.? Why not just go ahead and correct it?
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 11:34amYou have to admit, friend, for a government bureaucrat who got their job because of “Equal Employment Opportunity” or “Affirmative Action” instead of their ability to perform the job is like giving the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Federal Contract to the lowest bidder… and celebrating it.
We are lucky they could figure out that the dirt goes on top.
Report Post »theothertoolbox
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 11:27pmRuler…you are my hero. Just thought I’d tell you that. Merry Christmas, sir!
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 9:39amAnd… those who cannot do… enter Government!
Report Post »countryfirst
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 8:33amThe only way that is will be done correctly is if a volunteer committee steps in. Nothing the government does is efficient. This cannot be done without honor and respect for those who have sacrificed.
And our government has non as long as our POTUS is apologizing for them.
Report Post »FREDD The WILSON
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 8:06amWell geez it’s just dead people, they are not paying their fair share of taxes anymore.they are not voting for progressive liberals (only their names will be), Hell, they were probably baby killers, and rapist and destroyers of great countries. With them out of the way the progressive waves of socialism and communism can finally flourish and make this country great again.
Signed. George Soros , Barry and Moochelle, Hollywood, and the Democratic Party.
Report Post »jedi.kep
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 7:36amWhat a horrible thing for the families to endure. Absolute shame.
Report Post »wellhangingchad
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 7:35amThis must have been a union contract.
Report Post »Living In NYC
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 7:21amGreez and these government clowns are going to run healthcare!
Go in for a pimple removal and they will give you a hip replacement!
Report Post »Redwing1
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 8:18amI was thinking the same thing. Scary to think Gov’t morons will be in charge of your life.
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 6:12amIt’s not only Arlington, Fort Snelling in Minnesota has errors on their grave stone crosses.
Report Post »Bill Rowland
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:54amHate this, I have friends buried there who served this country honorably. They deserve the respect of the nation for the sacrifices they made. We can all understand human error but this is unbelievable.
I hope they have someone with the partience and persistance to straighten the problem out.
OMG
Report Post »notmeatglennbeckdotcom
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 4:50amAnd you want GOVERNMENT in charge of your healthcare?
And I’m proud to be on this peaceful piece of property
I‘m on sacred ground and I’m in the best of company
I‘m thankful for those thankful for the things we’ve done
I can rest in peace. I’m one of the chose ones
I made it to Arlington.
And every time I hear a 21 gun
I know they brought another hero home
To us.
Trade Adkins, “Arlington”
May these brave souls rest in peace and forgive our mortal idiots who know not what they do.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:23amNo worries. the government will make another law to fix all the problems here. they are so great at micromanaging the country.
When are the BCS bowl hearings supposed to start? You know that is so important as our nation burns to the ground. We need to have a college super bowl and only the geniuses in congress can arrange how it has to be played!
After all, they told me my toilet bowl had too much water, reduced the tank size, now i have little turds floating in my bowl so i have to flush theree times instead of one…I am so grateful.
My lights are not energy efficient, so now I had to replace them with POISON light bulbs. thanks congress, i needed to die early…
Don’t worry, the Government will fix EVERYTHING.
End the BS Ron Paul 2012
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 4:41amJust think how much fun Obamacare will be….. The government aka worthless waterheads but that is what you get when it is other peoples money…….Tax the rich & give them more money, that will fix it
Report Post »valleyfever
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:35amI remember visiting Arlington as a child in the 40′s. It was so reverent and respectful Now it is a tourist attraction with vendors all over the place and thousands of kids on field trips tramping through unaware of the sacrifice this hallowed ground represents. The grounds are a disgrace.
Report Post »I can’t imagine how 64000 errors have been made. Heads should roll but they never do.
ronin_6
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:32amAs an Army vet I am ashamed that my branch could be so careless as to let this happen, but I am comforted by the knowledge that IT WILL BE CORRECTED!
Report Post »silentwatcher
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:20amIt’s shameful the way it was taken care of……but it’s all hallowed ground…
Report Post »TH30PH1LUS
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:58amSo, just to clarify this aspect of the story: the “old team” who had been screwing things up were all fired, and a new team brought in to reform the system?
Sounds like a good plan for the rest of the D.C.
Report Post »TelepromoterNChief
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:56amMust be an overt smear catempaign by the Obama Admin to smear the military.
Report Post »JohnnyinthePedros
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:41amMaybe, or maybe we should just accept the fact that governments throughout history are good at two things, collecting taxes and killing people. They’re pretty crappy at everything else, including ensuring that people, either living or dead, are treated with dignity and respect.
Report Post »Peter_Alan_Cole
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:50amThat is what happens when you fight American Freedom! HOo RAA
Report Post »Ghostrider03
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:29amNow I know why I chose otherwise instead of that!! What a disgrace on us all.
Report Post »MisterB
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:46amIt ain’t just Arlington.
My dad’s rank and birthdate are incorrect in Ft. Bliss, too.
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 6:15amMy Dad’s birthdate is wrong at Fort Snelling, MN. Really, how hard is it to hire someone competent to do the job correctly??
Report Post »Legal Immigrant
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 11:21amRU
A volunteer would likely have that “love” that would ensure all was right in the first place.
Report Post »RossPoldark
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:36amPraise God that at least he will know who each and everyone of these soldiers is.
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 6:15amAmen!
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