More burial problems at Arlington

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A retired U.S. Air Force colonel has been visiting an empty grave at Arlington National Cemetery because of a burial mistake, a cemetery spokesman said.

Army spokesman Gary Tallman confirmed the wife of Col. William C. Koch Jr. was not buried in the grave Koch has been visiting for the past 4 1/2 years, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Instead, Tallman said the coffin containing Koch's wife was found one grave over in a plot marked by a headstone for an army staff sergeant.

Cemetery workers found the staff sergeant in the next grave over in a plot marked for the wife of a retired Navy commander.

When that grave was opened, there were two sets of remains: the staff sergeant's coffin and an urn containing the remains of the Navy commander's wife.

The mixups are the latest in a series of burial problems at Arlington that resulted in the ouster of the cemetery's two top leaders.