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June 26, 2020
Removal of Nazi Symbols and Inscriptions on Headstones of
Prisoners of War in VA National Cemeteries
Ove*view
On May 12, 2020, the Military Religious Freedom
Foundation's Founder and President, Michael L. Weinstein,
called on Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), Robert
Wilkie, to immediately remove three World War II-era
headstones located in two VA national cemeteries. These
prisoner-of-war (POW) headstones each bear the Iron Cross
insignia, representing a Prussian and German military honor
that included a swastika when awarded by Nazi Germany.
Two of these headstones also have a German-language
inscription that translates to He died far from his home for
Fthrer, people and Fatherland.
The headstones-located in Fort Douglas Post Cemetery,
Utah, and in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery,
Texas-were installed during the 1940s, when hundreds of
thousands of German, Italian, and Japanese POWs were
held in the United States at various military installations.
During this time, the U.S. military had standardized
gravestones for its servicemembers but not for POWs.
According to VA, approximately 1,000 of the POWs who
died while in the United States were buried in military
cemeteries that have since been transferred from
Department of Defense (DOD) jurisdiction to the
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA also said it appears
that these three headstones are the only ones bearing a
swastika or a Nazi Germany-related inscription.
Under article 120 of the 1949 Geneva Convention Relative
to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the United States
must ensure that prisoners of war who have died in
captivity are honourably buried ... and that their graves are
respected, suitably maintained and marked so as to be found
at any time. International law does not appear to further
specify the style or content of POW grave markers.
of De
The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) within VA
administers most national cemeteries, with 143 cemeteries
under its jurisdiction. The National Park Service and
Department of the Army administer 14 and 35 national
veterans' cemeteries, respectively.
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, located in San
Antonio, is one of the 143 cemeteries under VA jurisdiction
and has been administered by VA for over 40 years.
Established by the U.S. War Department in 1937, the
cemetery remained under the Army's jurisdiction until
1973, when Congress passed P.L. 93-43, the National
Cemeteries Act, which transferred Fort Sam Houston
National Cemetery and 81 other national cemeteries from
DOD to VA.
More recently, the Office of the Army Cemeteries
transferred certain cemeteries to NCA pursuant to
Executive Order 13781 of March 13, 2017, and the VA's
own agency reform plan. This plan was also included in a
2018 White House initiative, Delivering Government
Solutions in the 21' Century: Reform Plan and
Reorganization Recommendations, which endorsed
consolidation of federal veterans' cemeteries. According to
this initiative, the transfer from DOD to VA assures that
these military cemeteries will alleviate duplicative mission
requirements and entrust operational control to an agency
with more expertise in running cemeteries.
In December 2019, Fort Douglas Post Cemetery-the
cemetery that contains the POW headstone with the
swastika-was transferred to VA's jurisdiction. In March
2020, Vancouver Barracks Military Cemetery was
transferred to Willamette National Cemetery. Six more
cemeteries are to be transferred to NCA in 2020. These are
the Army post cemeteries at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and
the Enemy Prisoner of War Cemetery located there; Fort
Worden, Washington; Fort Stevens, Oregon; Fort Devens,
Massachusetts; and Benicia Arsenal, California.
Conn gressional Requests
On May 25, 2020, a bipartisan group of Representatives
serving on the House Appropriations Committee sent a
letter to VA Secretary Wilkie requesting that VA remove
the gravestones or alter them to remove the swastika-
adorned headstones and messages honoring Hitler. The
letter acknowledged that the cemeteries were not under VA
control when the headstones were placed, but it stated that
now there is no excuse for VA to maintain these
headstones instead of replacing them.
During the House Military Construction-VA
Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on May 28, 2020,
committee members asked Secretary Wilkie about this
issue. Secretary Wilkie did not commit to removing the
headstones in question but stated, I happen to think that
making sure that when people visit our cemeteries they are
educated and informed of the horror is an incredibly
important thing to do ... I think we can find [a] way to put
this in historical context.
Dearmetof Veteranz..ns Afffairs'
Response
Initially, a VA spokesperson stated that the VA did not
intend to change the posture of previous administrations
by disturbing those gravesites. However, on June 1, 2020,
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