US outrage as scandal grows over Arlington military grave mix-up

The Guardian

The families of thousands of dead American soldiers may have been mourning at the wrong graves for years, it was revealed yesterday, as more than 6,000 headstones at Arlington cemetery may have been mixed up.

There was outrage among families, the American Legion and others last month when the number of graves that had been misnamed was thought to be 211. The higher figure was revealed yesterday at a Senate investigation into how there could be so much confusion over the headstones at the US national military cemetery.

Senator Claire McCaskill, who is heading the Senate committee conducting the inquiry, said: "We now know that the problems with graves at Arlington may be far more extensive than previously acknowledged. At a conservative estimate, 4,900 to 6,600 graves may be unmarked, improperly marked, or mislabeled on the cemetery's maps."