Political Quotes

“late last summer, a Virginian contacted my office to request my intervention in a matter which had brought considerable anguish and frustration to her family. She informed me that her father, a decorated veteran of World War II and a career civil servant, had recently passed away. Before his death, however, he made two simple requests: one, that his body be donated to science, and two, that his ashes be placed in the Arlington National Cemetery. His widow, now 72, honored the first of those wishes. But in honoring the first request, she found out that the second was precluded. The family learned that, due to various legal concerns, ashes of organ donors who donate their bodies to science are not returned to the families of the donors. Unfortunately, due to the regulations governing Arlington National Cemetery, veterans cannot be memorialized in the Columbarium unless their remains are actually inurned there. Oddly, it so happens that if his spouse had predeceased him, her remains would already have been inurned in a niche at Arlington, awaiting his remains. While I can appreciate that limited space at Arlington has necessitated adherence to strict guidelines for burial and memorialization, I cannot see the virtue in denying appropriate recognition for an entitled veteran simply because he has donated his remains to science. In fact, I would like to encourage more veterans to do just that.”