What's trashed at Arlington National Cemetery

[mookiemookie]

Left out in the rain to rot were crayon drawings by children who had lost a parent, photographs of soldiers with their babies, painted portraits and thank-you notes from grade-school kids to fallen soldiers they had never known. Colors of artworks ran together. Photos were blurred and wilted. Poems and letters were illegible wads of wet paper. A worker in a brown uniform wandered among the graves, blasting the headstones with a power washer without regard to what was left of the mementos -- or the obviously uncomfortable mourners looking on. Some items got further soaked. The worker blasted others across the grass. Many of them would end up in a black trash bin in the cemetery's service area.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...tes/index.html

[SteamWake]

What are they supposed to do with them?

[Onkel Neal]

The article says they collect them, and hold them for 30 days. That's out of respect for the dead, so the graves do not look like a trash site. After 30 days they bin it, except items that have significance, that goes to the historian.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

What are they supposed to do with them?

I thought it was interesting how the Wall and Arlington differed on their treatment of items left by mourners. I understand from a practical standpoint that Arlington is a much larger place and it would be hard to save everything, but it's still kind of sad.

And judging by the author's description, maybe a little more sensitivity in the way that collecting the items for disposal is handled would be a good idea.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I thought it was interesting how the Wall and Arlington differed on their treatment of items left by mourners. I understand from a practical standpoint that Arlington is a much larger place and it would be hard to save everything, but it's still kind of sad.

And judging by the author's description, maybe a little more sensitivity in the way that collecting the items for disposal is handled would be a good idea.

They should follow the example set by the goverment and do it when no one is watching.

[AVGWarhawk]

I do not think you will find more hollowed ground than Arlington. The grounds need to be kept clean and as neat as possible out of respect for those that earned the right to by laid to rest on these grounds. Momentos and pictures are not going to last. I suspect those that placed these items understand that. I think the grounds keeper policy on 30 days is fair.

Question is, why would anyone in the media bring this up? To what end?

Robert E. Lee likes his former home clean.

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

They should follow the example set by the goverment and do it when no one is watching.

@ SteamWake

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I thought it was interesting how the Wall and Arlington differed on their treatment of items left by mourners. I understand from a practical standpoint that Arlington is a much larger place and it would be hard to save everything, but it's still kind of sad.

And judging by the author's description, maybe a little more sensitivity in the way that collecting the items for disposal is handled would be a good idea.

Agreed

[Platapus]

I agree that it sounds a bit harsh but people need to know that there are rules on what can and can't be left on graves.

Also, if someone is going to put stuff on a grave, they should have the courtesy to come back and clean up after themselves and not leave the mess for someone else to clean up.

Imagine how long it would take to power wash the thousands of markers and then imagine having to stop and clean up messy, albeit well intentioned, trash.

[bookworm_020]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I thought it was interesting how the Wall and Arlington differed on their treatment of items left by mourners. I understand from a practical standpoint that Arlington is a much larger place and it would be hard to save everything, but it's still kind of sad.

And judging by the author's description, maybe a little more sensitivity in the way that collecting the items for disposal is handled would be a good idea.

Agree with you