No ‘disgraced’ vets buried in ‘hallowed grounds’: Senators push for expanded VA disinterment powers at national cemeteries

A bipartisan collection of U.S senators want to keep “disgraced veterans” from finding final resting places in national cemeteries — even if the deceased are already buried at Arlington National Cemetery or similar sites.

If their bill passes, the Department of Veterans Affairs would be further empowered to exhume and remove the remains of veterans convicted of serious crimes from national cemeteries.

“The burial grounds of our national cemeteries should be reserved for the bravest and most honorable among us,” said bill co-sponsor Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The proposed legislation, he added, would give the VA extended authority to disinter the remains of any “disgraced veteran” who would not be deemed eligible for such a burial according to current law’s standards and “ensure the hallowed grounds of our national cemeteries respect the values and service befitting a true patriot.”

Senate Bill 2807, dubbed the “Restoring the Sanctity of Public Entombments, Cemeteries, and Tributes (RESPECT) Act, was introduced by Cornyn — along with Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Under current law, the VA can only reconsider eligibility determinations for burial in national cemeteries for cases dating back to 2013, according to a Cornyn news release.

Families and victims’ advocates seeking disinterment of individuals who committed serious crimes prior to that date must secure a specific act of Congress, creating delays and possible inequities.

This week’s proposed Senate legislation would extend the VA’s retroactive authority back to June 18, 1973, covering the date when the National Cemeteries Act was signed into law.

“Our national cemeteries must reflect the honor, integrity, and respect owed to our veterans and their families who gave their lives fighting for their nation,” said Scott.

“As a proud Navy veteran, I’m proud to join my bipartisan colleagues in supporting the Respect Act, which preserves the dignity of our national cemeteries and ensures those laid to rest with this honor are worthy.”

Added Hirono: “Rather than setting an arbitrary cutoff for disinterment requests, this legislation will help ensure that the process is available to everyone.”

Ongoing efforts to remove disgraced vets from national cemeteries

There are currently at least seven outstanding disinterment petitions across multiple states — including Hawaii, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Florida and California.

Both Cornyn and Hirono have been involved in past legislation addressing the issues of disinterring veterans deemed unworthy of burial in national cemeteries considered by many to be sacred grounds.

Earlier this year, Hirono joined U.S. Reps. Jill Tokuda and Ed Case, both fellow Hawaiians, in urging the VA to remove Dr. Robert Browne, a former school psychiatrist, from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, aka “Punchbowl Cemetery,” over sex abuse allegations.

Browne was accused of sexually assaulting Kamehameha Schools students from the late ’60s through the mid-’80s. Browne died by suicide in 1991 and was subsequently buried at Punchbowl due to his Army service.

Meanwhile, Cornyn introduced a bill earlier this Congress that recently passed the Senate to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota, an alleged serial murderer and convicted rapist, from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Also this year, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., introduced a bill in the U.S. House to disinter the remains of George E. Siple, a veteran who was convicted of the 1969 murder of Bertha Smith and died in prison 30 years later.

He was buried in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Pennsylvania, in 1999. Similar bills regarding Siple’s exhumation, including one introduced by Perry last year, haven’t been successful, according to Navy Times.