Soldier's Graves Defaced

[tugboat]

Hi Guys;
I know, long time no post...I read, but I couldn't think of anything to say...
So any way, I was passing through Johnston City Tennessee. I looked to my left and there was a National Cemetery. I had been there a couple of years ago for a funeral...all the crosses are gone. They ripped up crosses from vets all the way back to the Spanish American War... it pissed me off...flat markers...cheaper to mow...no long lines of white markers, just a flat field

Tug

[Gypsy]

That's a damn shame to say the least. :mad:

[Chris Cram]

Did the ACLU have anything to do with the removal?
Or was it strictly a maintenance issue?
Either way, it’s just wrong.

[The Reaper]

Probably offended someone who didn't want to see crosses and Stars of David, so they had to go.

TR

[echoes]

Sir, this makes my blood boil!:mad:

So, called the Johnson City, Tn City offices, and was given the phone number and extension of the VA Hospital Dept. of
Whomever takes care of The Cemetary;
(Ph # 423.926.1171 x 7814)

No One was available at that extension, and was told to try back in the morning.

So I called the number for The City Manager:

City Government
City of Johnson City
601 East Main Street
Johnson City, TN 37601

Phone: (423) 434-6002
Fax: (423) 434-6295

I asked to leave a message for The Mayor as to "Why the Crosses had been removed from the graves of Our Veterans?"
Said she would call back in the morning...


EDIT TO ADD:

Thank You Tugboat Sir...:o
"The Cemetery is actually co-located with the Mountain Home VA Center. This caused a bit of confusion because there is another National Cemetery located near Johnson City-the Andrew Johnson Memorial."

Heard from Them today reguarding WHY there were no crosses at Their Memorial cemetary: Was told that there are no crosses because, "There are no crosses allowed."

[tugboat]

Hi Guys;
I got through to the guy that actually runs the cemetery. He says that the markers were removed so that the cemetery can be renovated. He says that the markers have been/ will be replaced and that they were moved so that new turf could be put on the graves. This is not what the guy driving the big yellow loader full of really old headstones told me. He very definitely stated that the markers were being replaced with flat markers that were faster and easier to mow over (he even made arm motions like he was driving a zero turn mower). The cemetery administrator also said that dozens of people have called him...thanks guys.

Tug

[Parentrooper]

I live and work in this part of Tennessee.

Rest assured--Johnson City is patriotic, through and through, and there is nothing going on at the VA cemetery that comes close to defacing graves. It's a face-lift project meant to honor the veterans, their families and the country. To illustrate what I mean, here's how hundreds of us spent Memorial Day.......

Story published: 05-27-2008 • Johnson City Press

In Honor, In Memory - Veterans past, present, living, dead remembered in emotional Memorial Day ceremony at VA

By John Thompson
Elizabethton Bureau Chief
jthompson@johnsoncitypress.com

The Memorial Day observance at Mountain Home National Cemetery is always more emotional when the nation is at war in some faraway country.

Monday’s event was no exception. Most in the audience of 450 to 500 people wept openly during some of the most poignant moments in the program as their thoughts turned not only to the servicemen and women who died in past wars, but also to those young people still dying in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The tenor was set by Mountain Home chaplain Debra Brewer. Her opening prayer recalled the sacrifices made in wars that have spanned two centuries and she concluded with a hope for peace in several languages.

The emotions swelled during several musical presentations during the observance, especially a powerful rendition of the national anthem by Miss Northeast Tennessee, Jessica Nixon; a patriotic medley by Eddie Shelton; and taps performed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3382, the Jericho Temple Shrine and Jeff Hall.

One of the most emotional moments happened when Shelton sang “God Bless the U.S.A.” and the audience stood and joined in the singing. One old veteran in a wheelchair attempted mightily to stand for the song, but despite the efforts of two men to help him stand up, his legs could not hold him and he slumped back into his chair and cried.

There were many elderly veterans in attendance, and many of those were in wheelchairs. One of them was World War II veteran William Darden, who is now in the Mountain Home nursing home and preparing to celebrate his 90th birthday on July 4. He was pushed in his wheelchair from the nursing home to the ceremony by his son, City Commissioner and former Mayor Steve Darden.

Rep. David Davis was the keynote speaker and he mentioned the men from the 1st Congressional District who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq, including Jefferson Davis of Watauga, Stephen Maddies of Elizabethton, Brandon Read of Greeneville, Paul Thomason of Talbott, Robbie Light of Kingsport, William Bennett of Seymour, Victor Lieurance of Seymour, Alexander Coulter of Bristol, Mark Edwards of Unicoi and David Potter of Johnson City. He also included Trane McCloud, whose father lives in Elizabethton.

“By answering the call of duty with valor and determination, these brave men have set a standard of courage and hope that makes every citizen of our country proud,” Davis said.

Davis also paid tribute to Bradley Walker, who returned from Iraq after losing both legs to a bomb made out of propane tanks and dynamite. Davis said that despite his injuries, Walker remains strong and is training for a triathlon.

Davis said he has visited the servicemen and women in Iraq, Walter Reed Army Hospital and at Mountain Home and he has come away with three things they want: better health care, better pay and better safety initiatives.

After those conversations, Davis said he voted this year for the largest increase in funding for veterans in the history of the nation, “and you deserve every penny of it.”

[Pete]

The old Ft Bragg Cemetery has upright stones.

The new Sandhills Cemetery is flat stones.

With the upright stones you get a true sense of the numbers there and it is easy to read the names as you walk through.

The flat stones look like an empty grass field and you have to walk up on it to read the marker.

Lots of places are going to flat stones because of maintenance issues. But Turf goes up or down based on how well your grass does. Some of the markers in the Sandhills site are starting to "Come Up" as the soil around them is washed away. People in the good grass areas will find the stones starting to be covered by sod. Both seem to be a maintenance issue.

[echoes]

Hi Guys;
This is not what the guy driving the big yellow loader full of really old headstones told me. He very definitely stated that the markers were being replaced with flat markers that were faster and easier to mow over (he even made arm motions like he was driving a zero turn mower). The cemetery administrator also said that dozens of people have called him...thanks guys.

Tug

Sir,

Can only hope that the voices of those that call are heard.

It is beyond my comprehension that in rural America, the blood spilled by Our Brave Soldiers is being defiled in this way. :( JMHO.

Thank You Sir,

Holly