Memorial Honors Troop Remains at Va. Landfill

A new memorial outside a Virginia landfill honors American troops whose cremated partial remains were dumped there by the Air Force.

Media outlets say the 3-by-3-foot cast bronze memorial was unveiled Sunday during a ceremony at the King George County Landfill east of Fredericksburg. About 250 people attended.

A group of citizens raised about $3,500 to pay for the memorial.

The Air Force said late last year that it had dumped cremated partial remains of at least 272 troops into the landfill. The remains were sent to the landfill after other remains had already been identified and returned to the family.

The Washington Post first reported the practice. Air Force officials said the practice was halted in 2008 and such remains are now given a burial at sea.

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