View Full Version : Arlington Nat'l Cemetery - Muddy Marker of MOH Recipient
Arlington National Cemetery - Section 60
Does anyone know anything about this? This pic is floating around twitter today. Am told it is current.
One of the muddy, downed grave markers is Colonel Charles P Murray Jr, Medal of Honor Recipient. :(
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestate/obituary.aspx?pid=153124565
mojaveman
02-21-2014, 16:35
I would say maintenance and not vandalism.
I would say maintenence and not vandalism.
If maintenance, I would expect the marker to be kept clean. If dirty, to clean it up, and put aside respectfully. Not thrown on ground by hole.
I could be wrong.
BTW, the pic was taken by wife of a soldier KIA.
Looks like a lot of rain.
Does Arlington allow the internment of the spouse after her/his death?
Looks like a lot of rain.
Does Arlington allow the internment of the spouse after her/his death?
Yes, even a second spouse! More than one can be buried in the grave as long as they didn't remarry.
If maintenance, I would expect the marker to be kept clean. If dirty, to clean it up, and put aside respectfully. Not thrown on ground by hole.
I could be wrong.
BTW, the pic was taken by wife of a soldier KIA.
Driving a vehicle on that wet ground to pick up the stones could cause more damage to to area and surrounding graves, besides it could have happened just before the pic was taken.
COL Murray died in 2011 - his widow died 7 Dec 2013 with ceremonies to inter her with her husband at Arlington on Tuesday (3 days ago).
Anne K. Murray COLUMBIA - Memorial Services for Anne K. Murray (wife of the late Col. Charles P. Murray, Jr.) will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at 1:00 pm on February 18, 2014. Mrs. Murray passed away in Columbia, South Carolina on December 7, 2013.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestate/obituary.aspx?pid=169478771#storylink=cpy
It looks to me as if the pic was made while they were interring his widow in COL Murray's grave during crappy weather and before the gravesite has been returned to its normal state of being.
Richard
It looks to me as if the pic was made while they were interring his widow in COL Murray's grave during crappy weather and before the gravesite has been returned to its normal state of being.
Excellent, thanks.
The cemetery staff probably could have handled the grave markers better....but it sounds like the widow (unrelated to this family) happened by and took her pic at a bad time.
The Reaper
02-21-2014, 20:17
This is one of the reasons why Arlington does not do internments year round.
TR
Tree Potato
02-21-2014, 21:26
Excellent, thanks.
The cemetery staff probably could have handled the grave markers better....but it sounds like the widow (unrelated to this family) happened by and took her pic at a bad time.
60 is a busy section; the staff should realize mourning friends and family may visit when least expected and maybe do a little more to keep from sending an unintended message of disrespect. Sounds like an innocent mistake though.
IIRC, the Col's grave site is in a slightly depressed area where water may collect a bit as it moves downhill. That portion of section 60 was wet and soggy during the Wreaths Across America wreath laying ceremony, made worse by how many people were either hanging pictures and ornaments on the nearby tree, and everyone else interested in looking at those pictures and ornaments.