Personnel cuts, veteran deaths may extend delays for Arlington burials

[babylonsister]

Personnel cuts, veteran deaths may extend delays for Arlington burials
By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, August 20, 2007


KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Arlington National Cemetery is America’s most hallowed ground, but it often takes weeks for those eligible to be interred there with full military honors to reach their final resting place.

Delays are nothing new at Arlington, but a projected rise in burials coupled with cuts to service honor guards mean the wait could get longer before it gets shorter.

World War II and Korean War veterans dying at a high rate and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to an increasing demand for plots. While earlier projections forecasted a decline in burials around 2008, federal officials have told military honor guardsmen that the numbers likely won’t drop for another three years. Last year, nearly 2,000 veterans died each day, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs statistics.

One American family stationed in Kaiserslautern learned this summer the frustration of having to wait to bury a loved one. After flying to the U.S. to make funeral arrangements and returning to Germany, they had to fly back more than a month later to bury the deceased, who was a World War II veteran and survivor of Pearl Harbor.

Wait times can vary from five days to as long as two months, according to the cemetery’s Web site. Arlington averages 30 funerals a day and 7,000 annually, Arlington spokeswoman Kara McCarthy said in an e-mail.

The delay can depend on numerous factors, and a funeral with full military honors or use of the chapel can extend the delay. The more features someone requests, the longer it can take.

But the availability of honor guard personnel on the requested dates is one of the main reasons for the length of time it takes, McCarthy said.

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http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=48213

[SteppingRazor]

1. We had to wait about a week when my grandfather died a couple years ago

So worth it, of course. Arlington was what he wanted, and it was a great ceremony, very dignified.

I'm not surprised, though, that the wait has gone up to a couple weeks in the last couple years — casualty rates in our current wars have increased, and I'm sure that the amount of WWII vets dying has increased as well.

[Estel]

2. We have waited one month

My mother passed away on 25 July and her funeral at Arlington is this Friday, 24 August. She will have a simple graveside ceremony. They told me if it had been my father we would have waited over two months! This wait has been very hard for my family obviously.

[babylonsister]

3. My sympathies go out to you and your family, Estel.

:hug: