R.I.P.

Reprieve for Civil War dead

Retired Chemical Engineer Charles Albright, 62, had been a navigator on a B-29 bomber in World War II, and, as he began planning for his own funeral, he recalled the Federal Government's promise that every war veteran could be buried in a national cemetery. The only such cemetery in his native West Virginia is in the town of Grafton, which suited Albright perfectly because his parents and grandparents are buried near by. But when he first inquired five years ago about a plot for himself, he learned that the three-acre Grafton National Cemetery had been full ever since 1957. Says Al bright: "I was real disappointed. That's where I wanted to be buried."

Albright formed an organization called the West Virginia United Veterans National Cemetery Committee and urged the Veterans Administration to enlarge the Grafton cemetery. Instead, the federal agency decided to save money by digging up 627 unknown Civil War dead and reburying them in separate plastic urns in a mass grave. Over this grave, said the VA, it would erect an imposing common headstone with an inscription stressing the theme "Now We Are One." The VA actually opened up eleven graves and found only a few relics inside. Says Albright: "The dead had no uniforms, no identification, no nothing. So what's wrong with a common grave as long as you just don't pile them in all together?"

The VA explored the possibility of carrying out similar exhumations elsewhere. Said Carl T. Noll, chief memorial affairs director: "The consolidation of graves would provide a reasonably significant number of gravesites to meet today's needs." In fact, of the 109 national cemeteries operated by the VA, only 55 can accommodate new graves.

But the VA failed to anticipate the outburst of public criticism. The New York Times accused the VA of "trampling on the final resting places." "Let them rest in peace," said the Washington Post.

Last week the VA canceled the project. Said a chastened Noll: "Certainly we meant no disrespect for these valiant Civil War heroes."

That leaves Albright still looking for a grave. While the VA promises "to explore other possible ways to create additional gravesites," Albright's committee has already begun a $500,000 fund-raising drive to buy the land needed to expand the Grafton cemetery. The unknown soldiers will remain where they are.

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