The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to create a new memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to hold unidentifiable fragments or cremated remains of service members who died in combat zones or in the line of duty.
By RICK MAZE
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to create a new memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to hold unidentifiable fragments or cremated remains of service members who died in combat zones or in the line of duty.
Establishment of the Place of Remembrance was included in HR 5948, a bill that also overhauls the assignment and removal of fiduciaries appointed to handle financial matters for veterans who cannot do so themselves. The bill passed by voice vote.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Creation of a place to put unidentified and unidentifiable remains is one of the fallouts from the scandal involving the military’s mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Some bone fragments and ashes of service members that could not be identified by the mortuary ended up in a Maryland landfill.
Since that incident was uncovered, the military has changed its procedures so that unidentified remains are buried at sea. Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, the chief sponsor of legislation, said this might be good for Navy and Marine Corps members, but internment on land should be an option.
Under the bill, remains to be placed in the memorial would be restricted to service members who died while on active duty in a war or contingency operation, or in the line of duty. In most cases, burial would happen only after mortuary officials determine identification is not possible.
However, the bill also allows for situations where fragments are collected after a burial service already has been held. Survivors might decide they do not want to be notified of additional fragments.
Location and design of the Place of Remembrance would be left to the Army, which oversees Arlington National Cemetery.
