Some families of veterans are upset with a Maryland cemetery after it started removing memorials to loved ones without warning.
Families have purchased memorial benches that have been at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery for years. They say the cemetery’s removal of some of those benches surprised them, and they want to know why.
Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now.
Harry Weaver gets choked up when he talks about how his dad, Franklin Weaver, fought for his country.
“He was a World War II veteran and was in the third assault wave on Omaha Beach,” Weaver said.
We have the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily.
Now, his father is buried at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery in Prince George's County. His widow bought a memorial bench and placed it near his grave when he died in 2011.
After learning the cemetery was removing benches without warning, the family took his bench down and hauled it away in the back of their horse trailer.
“It's really disrespectful and angers me that this is going on here,” Weaver said.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
He learned some benches were gone from Facebook — not from the cemetery — when another family posted about it. Weaver’s family went to the cemetery right away.
Weaver said his sister got there early Thursday and sat down on the bench to guard it.
“If they were going to take it, they were gonna take her, also,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families confirmed 60 benches had been removed after a federal audit found they're unsafe because they're deteriorating.
After News4 began asking questions, the spokesperson said the department "put a pause" on removals and will contact families within the next 30 days to give them an option to take the benches home.
“I appreciate y’all coming out and covering this,” Weaver said. “I think it should be known what’s taking place here.”
Some of the small stone benches that dot the 112-acre cemetery have been there for many years. Some — including the Weavers’ — were purchased through the cemetery, and the family doesn't like how it was handled.
“If this was destroyed, it wouldn’t destroy our memory of our family, our mom and dad,” Weaver said. “But it hurt that this thought was even taking place.”
The Weavers are still figuring out where the bench will go, now, but it will be preserved and kept in the family.
Families whose benches have been removed can call the cemetery to see if they can be located.
