Audit finds issues at other VA cemeteries

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The Veterans Affairs Department found burial problems at military cemeteries across the United States, the department's National Cemetery Administration said.

The report said the departmental unit found numerous instances of misplaced headstones and at least eight cases of people buried in the wrong spots, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The review came after revelations of widespread burial problems at Arlington National Cemetery that led to congressional inquiries and a criminal investigation.

While many of the problems found at Arlington were traced to an outdated paper record system, VA officials said problems at several of its cemeteries largely resulted from carelessness during renovations, such as headstones and markers temporarily removed then reset improperly.

In an interview with the Post, National Cemetery Administration Deputy Undersecretary for Field Operations Glenn Powers said the department is working to return all headstones to their proper places and trying locate affected families to offer apologies and explanations.

Powers said problems were discovered at national cemeteries in Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas and he is waiting for reports from two San Francisco-area cemeteries.

"We strive to operate the best cemetery system in the world, and if something like this happens, there is no excuse," Powers said. "The amount of times this happens is rare. But there is no margin of error; there shouldn't be any kind of error. … We need to learn and make sure it doesn't happen again."

The audit, ordered in October, included only sections of cemeteries renovated during the past 10 years, the Post said. The VA checked 1.3 million grave sites in 85 of its 131 cemeteries, including Confederate sites.

Once the initial survey is done, Powers said a more comprehensive review will be conducted.