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Wednesday, July 15, 2015

More than 150 headstones for veterans’ graves plundered to build cemetery worker’s carport floor

When headstones on the graves of fallen servicemen crack or fade with age, they’re hauled away to be honorably destroyed. Then the Department of Veterans Affairs replaces them.

But at a veterans cemetery in Rhode Island, an employee who was supposed to be taking care of the graves pillaged more than 150 granite headstones, many of them still inscribed with the names of the veterans. Then he took the markers home to build a floor for his carport.

When investigators arrived at Kevin Maynard’s house in Charlestown, R.I., this spring, they come upon an eerie scene, according to a federal affadavit: The grave markers, most with the inscriptions face down, were serving as the foundation for two makeshift carports held up by aluminum poles and plastic tarps.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is going on in this world. Nothing is precious anymore. Our children, neighbors, and even strangers have fell from our caring totem pole. What happen to our hearts, our caring for one another, our respect for our country? It seems as though everyone is out for themselves now a days. It's a sad world.

Anonymous said...

It has become a Me, Me, Me society.
No one matters but me.
Doesn't matter if it driving or in the grocery store it doesn't matter where it is.
its all about me.

Anonymous said...

And the younger generation could care less about our veterans, not being taught U.S. history in many of our schools anymore.

Anonymous said...


Here's my contrarian take on this.

We push people to recycle, ad infinitum.

When these stones were taken out of service and replaced by new headstones at the grave they became scrap. They were disposed of and were destroyed in some fashion leaving some kind of smaller stone pieces and powder.

This guy just repurposed them, and it's evident he did it in a largely respectful manner.

Not upset; have dead WWII relatives and 'Nam friends.

Anonymous said...

They didn't belong to him, they belong to the family or the VA.

lmclain said...

Use them as flooring? THAT is a "largely respectable manner"????
WTF?