WASHINGTON — Estimates of the number of graves that might be affected by mix-ups at Arlington National Cemetery grew from hundreds to as many as 6,600 on Thursday, as the cemetery’s former superintendent blamed his staff and a lack of resources for the scandal that forced his ouster.
John Metzler, who ran the historic military burial ground for 19 years, said he accepts “full responsibility” for the problems. But he also denied some of the findings by Army investigators and suggested cemetery employees and poor technology were to blame for remains that may have been misidentified or misplaced.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, chairwoman of an oversight panel on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Reform Committee, said Thursday that her investigation has revealed that between 4,900 and 6,600 graves may be unmarked or mislabeled on cemetery maps.
While Army officials have described Metzler as an ineffective manager who turned a blind eye to the cemetery’s problems, investigators accuse his deputy, Thurman Higginbotham, of botching contracts and creating an “unhealthy organizational climate” for employees.
When asked whether he was aware of problems at the cemetery, Higginbotham said: “It was always conceptual that anything done by hand for 40-plus years, that there would have to be some errors somewhere.”
