Excerpt from: The Washington Post (click for full article)
The National Cemetery Administration is making progress digging its way out of trouble from a 2011 internal investigation that found 15 sets of remains in the wrong spots and scores of mismarked, unmarked and sunken headstones, according to agency watchdogs.
Veterans Affairs Assistant Inspector General Linda A. Halliday testified before a House subcommittee on Wednesday that the NCA revised its review methods and caught onto more than 100 mistakes it had missed during its initial examination of the nationwide cemetery system.
Evidence of system-wide problems surfaced in 2011 after workers tested new maps at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, where investigators found 47 markers offset by one space from their correct spots.The mistakes prompted VA undersecretary Steve L. Muro to apologize to affected families.
A 2012 inspector general’s audit found that VA officials “did not provide adequate time and resources” for certifying gravesite accuracy during a subsequent review and that cemetery directors felt overwhelmed by pressure to meet the agency’s deadline.
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