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{"id":3839,"date":"2016-02-04T19:11:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T01:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=3839"},"modified":"2016-03-26T16:09:39","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T22:09:39","slug":"250000-unjustly-denied-burial-in-arlington-national-cemetery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/250000-unjustly-denied-burial-in-arlington-national-cemetery.html","title":{"rendered":"250,000 unjustly denied burial in Arlington National Cemetery!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"Arlington_National_Cemetery_graves\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

I read about the WASPs many, many years ago \u2014 I have the impression it was one of the first adult non-fiction books I read, in high school. \u00a0And it\u2019s a great story, with women pilots ferrying planes stateside to free up male pilots for military service in World War II. \u00a0They lived in barracks and wore uniforms like the men, and 38 of them died \u2014 a loss of life that\u2019s not trivial, but, of course, not the same as combat troops either.<\/p>\n

But they were considered civilians, and ineligible for veterans\u2019 services, including Arlington burial. \u00a0This changed in 1977, when they were granted veteran status, and eligible for services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. \u00a0In 2002, the administrator at Arlington determined that this status meant that they were likewise eligible for burial there \u2014 or rather, inurnment, because burial is only for those who died in service<\/a>, along with certain smaller groups of people* \u2014 but in March 2015, Army Secretary John McHugh rescinded that decision, determining that the 1977 law only applied to programs run by the VA, and Arlington is run by the Army, not the VA. \u00a0This has inspired protests, a change.org petition, and legislation sponsored by 97 House members. \u00a0For details, see this article in the LA Times<\/a> (simultaneously printed in the Chicago Tribune).<\/p>\n

(* It may be that WWII vets are grandfathered in; as the link specifies that there are such groups, but without details.)<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the catch:<\/p>\n

WASP pilots aren\u2019t the only \u201cactive duty designees\u201d \u2014 or civilians performing work of a military nature \u2014 in World War II. \u00a0The men who served in the merchant marine are in the same situation, as acknowledged in the reports at cbsnews.com<\/a> and huffingtonpost.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And these men served at far greater risk to their lives \u2014 243,000 served, and 9,497 died<\/a>. \u00a0Crossing the Atlantic Ocean which the German U-boats prowled mercilessly was a very dangerous task, even if they weren\u2019t in direct combat.<\/p>\n

(Family lore says my grandfather served in the Greek merchant marine \u2014 but jumped ship upon landing in New York, to join up with family there.)<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s not really about the women. \u00a0If anything, for WASP pilots to be granted Arlington burial privilege rights but not the merchant mariners, would be an unjust special treatment. \u00a0It\u2019s about whether this much larger group should be in Arlington as well.<\/p>\n

And \u2014 if you take a step back a bit \u2014 the determination that every veteran must be given the opportunity to be buried in Arlington, and that Arlington must be extended however extensively is necessary to make this happen (see this hotair.com piece<\/a>, for instance), is simply an indicator of our youth as a country, and our lack of long-term perspective. \u00a0What will our descendants, a hundred, two hundred or more years from now, think of our burial customs, when not just Arlington but countless cemeteries are filled? \u00a0What will burial customs look like at that point?<\/p>\n

To be honest, I rather prefer the custom in Germany, where gravesites are leased, for as long as descendants wish to, and are cared for, with living plants rather than artificial flowers. \u00a0(See here for an article<\/a> from the point of view of U.S. servicemen stationed there.) \u00a0When the lease expires, any remains of the decayed corpse are reburied deeper (though, interestingly, this is becoming a problem in some places<\/a>) and the site is reused.<\/p>\n

Image: \u00a0from\u00a0https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Arlington_National_Cemetery_graves.jpg; public domain<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"