- The Department of Veterans Affairs has come under fire for defending swastika-adorned headstones of Nazi troops buried in US national cemeteries.
- Outraged by the offensive headstones, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation demanded the VA secretary issue “an immediate and heartfelt apology to all United States veterans and their families,” as well as replace the grave markers immediately.
- Responding to concerns about the headstones, the VA told Salon, which first reported the story, that the markers are protected historical markers and argued that the “VA will continue to preserve these headstones, like every past administration has.”
- Michael Weinstein, head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, called the VA’s response “pathetic and feckless,” arguing that it was “disingenuous at best and dishonest at worst.”
There are Nazi troops buried in US national cemeteries with headstones adorned with swastikas, and Veterans Affairs is taking heat for preserving the grave markers.At Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas and Fort Doublas Post Cemetery in Utah, there are three headstones featuring a swastika in the centre of iron cross.
The markers also display the German inscription: “He died far from his home for the Führer, people and fatherland.”
Dozens of enemy troops are buried in the two national cemeteries, but the headstones for three enemy dead were different from the others, which only feature names and dates, according to Military Times.
Read the article by Ryan Pickrell in Business Insider Australia.