{"id":49381,"date":"2020-06-01T22:31:48","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T22:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/01\/nazi-headstones-will-be-removed-from-us-veterans-cemeteries-va-leaders-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:08:17","slug":"nazi-headstones-will-be-removed-from-us-veterans-cemeteries-va-leaders-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2020\/06\/01\/nazi-headstones-will-be-removed-from-us-veterans-cemeteries-va-leaders-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Nazi headstones will be removed from US veterans cemeteries, VA leaders say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/06\/01\/protesters-damage-veterans-affairs-headquarters-several-dc-war-monuments\/\" target=_blank>Veterans Affairs<\/a> officials announced Monday they will remove a series of of grave markers bearing Nazi swastikas and tributes to Adolf Hitler from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2020\/05\/15\/calls-grow-for-va-to-remove-nazi-swastikas-from-department-cemeteries\/\" target=_blank>department cemeteries<\/a> after lawmakers and veterans advocates complained the markers were offensive and disrespectful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move represents a turnaround from last week, when VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said he was looking for ways to put the problematic grave markers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/05\/28\/amid-criticism-secretary-wilkie-wont-commit-to-removing-nazi-headstones-from-va-cemeteries\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cin historical context\u201d<\/a> rather than remove them from the cemeteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But critics said any result that left the controversial symbols alongside the graves of American war heroes was insufficient. After about two weeks of controversy, VA officials relented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is understandably upsetting to our veterans and their families to see Nazi inscriptions near those who gave their lives for this nation,\u201d Wilkie said in a statement Monday. \u201cThat\u2019s why VA will initiate the process required to replace these POW headstones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/05\/12\/nazi-swastikas-at-veterans-cemeteries-prompt-outrage-but-va-calls-them-protected-history\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"241\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gravestone.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Nazi swastikas at veterans cemeteries prompt outrage, but VA calls them protected history<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Gravestones on VA property of former German prisoners of war also display a reference to Adolf Hitler.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At issue are three grave sites at two VA cemeteries: Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas and Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Utah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both were used to inter dozens of unclaimed remains of enemy troops following World War II. The sites were administered by the Army for decades until responsibilities were transferred to VA\u2019s National Cemetery Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While most of the foreign troops\u2019 grave markers list only names and dates of death, the three in question\u2014 which all date back to the 1940s \u2014 are also engraved with a swastika in the center of an iron cross and inscription in German which reads \u201cHe died far from his home for the F\u00fchrer, people and fatherland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, following complaints from local veterans about the offensive messages, leaders from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation demanded VA remove the grave markers, saying their presence alongside American veterans was unforgivable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But VA leaders have said that the sites are governed by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which \u201cassigns stewardship responsibilities to federal agencies, including VA and Army, to protect historic resources, including those that recognize divisive historical figures or events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, Wilkie said the law prohibited him from simply removing the stones, but he also argued that doing so would amount to ignoring history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI happen to think that making sure when people visit our cemeteries they are informed of that horror is an important thing to do \u2026 erasing these headstones removes them from memory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and a vocal critic of Wilkie\u2019s initial decision, accused VA leadership of \u201chiding behind\u201d the law instead of taking proper action.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/01\/17\/former-soldier-with-neo-nazi-ties-planned-to-bring-assault-rifle-to-virginia-gun-rights-rally\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GWMV5BMFUREMJJ5HDWXMVKB7CM.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Former soldier with neo-Nazi ties planned to bring assault rifle to Virginia gun rights rally<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Two Americans and a Canadian are suspected of planning to incite violence at a Virginia gun rights rally.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA officials on Monday did not give a date for removal of the grave stones, saying that under the NHPA that \u201c VA is not permitted to unilaterally remove them or alter them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Department leaders did promise that later this month staff will \u201cwill begin taking required steps \u2026 about how to replace these headstones with historically accurate markers that do not include the Nazi swastika and German text.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials do not plan to dispose of the headstones, but instead store them in the National Cemetery Administration History Collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA will also install signs at all VA national cemeteries where foreign enemy prisoners of war are buried \u201cin order to provide historical context about how non-U.S. service members from World War I and World War II were interred and buried on American soil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilkie said that despite the change, \u201cAmericans must always remember the horror of the Nazi regime and why so many Americans sacrificed so much to free the world from its reign of terror.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The headstones are engraved with a swastika, an iron cross and inscription in German that reads \u201cHe died far from his home for the F\u00fchrer, people and fatherland.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":61422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,22,23,89,12,26,62,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-49381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RK2AM3AXDVBXRNRAHOQ6LVST4E","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/06\/01\/nazi-headstones-will-be-removed-from-us-veterans-cemeteries-va-leaders-say\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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