The article indicates that they were exactly that, old headstones that had been replaced. No doubt someone working at the cemetery at the time decided to take them home to use as paving stones for a walk instead of letting them be destroyed as is standard practice. Not the nicest thing in the world to do, but at least they were not taken from graves leaving the graves unmarked. The sad thing is that the cemetery is going to the expense of retrieving them most likely just to destroy them, which seems a little pointless. One thing I am curious about is that the picture appears to show 14 stones (two rows of five and one row of four), not the 13 mentioned in the article.

Maybe one of the stones in the photo is just a stepping stone, not a tombstone.

I count 15, it looks like Calvin (green hat) has one.

Those would make drop dead counter tops - what a killer idea.

JS; I bet you find Waldo every time, don't you.

I agree XD

Quite a mess in Arlington.

Also JS and Mailman. I "think" the 13 are actual Soldiers Headstones, and the other 2 are for a Spouse and a Child (even though they say Spouses).

Since Civil War times headstones, or Markers (for the Military)were formally made of sandstone while they reserved granite or marble for higher ranking officers. The sandstone markers were replaced periodically because of deterioration, damage from people or equipment, or vandals.

Sandstone was the material of choice up until until the end of WWII when the Normandy American Cemetary was established. That is when the military went to marble.

In the 1960's our Government began the task of replacing all Military Cemetary sandstone markers with marble markers.

Like the article said. They usually destroy the old when replaced with new. If I found an abandoned stone I would probably keep it if my research showed/confirmed the soldier had a marker replaced. I would also attempt to contact a family member of the soldier which is pretty easy these days. If they gave me permission to keep it, then I would find a nice place on my property and display it with honor.

It's a shame to destroy them and I can see them functioning as a stepping stone or garden stone. But for me personally I would feel I was dishonoring the soldier.

yet another reason why cremation is simply better. stop wasting land by putting dead bodies into it that in just one generation will be unknown anyway.

Thank you! @ DevlsAdvacut.

Thank you too, Nancy.

While retrieving the 13 headstones Blackburn initially discovered, cemetery officials located seven additional markers beneath a patch of monkey grass in Blackburn's backyard.

There are names on the stones maybe ancestries.com can help. It would be interesting to know..

Myself I will be cremated and used as potting soil or something, my future generations will have no recollection of me.

Devls - VA uses granite for headstones, as marble is actually too soft a stone. Very decorative, and attractive, but not as durable as granite.

As far as the rest of the story, recently on one of the news programs, they were relating horror stories regarding different cemeteries around the country. Everything from bodies being removed and thrown in mass graves, unmarked, just to free up space for other interments. Disgusting.

I just hope that is not the case at work in this particular story, but they are, at least, actually doing constructive research to determine what the story really is.

To jsinsd:

The stone in the background by Mr. Jackson does not look like a tombstone. It is probably just what mailman said, a paving stone

I believe the stones should be recycled after serving heir graveyard purpose. Paving is a good choice. Let the stones be beautiful, provide safety and convenience.

Why simply waste the stones? It's wierd.

When asked what happened the Department of Veterans Affairs issued this written response.............Whoops.

I'm donating my body to the body farm. This cemetary business is only for the living to have peace of mind. When you're dead, do you really care what happens to your body?

All they have to do is check the deed records of Mr. Blackburns home and determine who owned the home at the time the stones were removed. Case solved...

For those that choose to be cremated, I respect your decision. I say that because I want to point out that cemeteries are and have been a great source of information for tracing family histories/ancestry. So, although some may think of it as a waste of space, they do have value to others

The government will often outsource (get rid of) outdated, non used items at cheap sales. Some worker probably paid $10 for all the stones to use in his yard. Go to any government surplus sale site and you'll find all types of items.

haha... Cemeteries a waste of space? What, should we do away with cemeteries so we can have another Walmart put in? Maybe another sporting goods store that goes out of business the first year it's put in? Another mall? Another "for lease" empty office building? Skateboard park? Neighborhood of foreclosed houses?

Shoot, at least at a cemetery have green space and a place for birds and squirrels to kick it. It's basically a park, with fertilizer you don't have to apply each season.

If it wasn't for all the dead bodies, cemeteries would be a great picnic location.

At Cheeseman Park in Denver, there's dead bodies under the ground. Used to be a cemetary way long ago and they stopped using it because it got too full. But you can see where the bodies used to be because the ground has sunk in. It's pretty neat actually...except for all the dubious activities going on there.

Frosty

Apologies for my incomplete, therefore, misleading statement.

That is when the military went to marble.

The U.S Government (the Military) "went to" marble for Normandy American Cemetery, exclusively. With marble stuck in my head, I went and typed marble instead of granite in the next sentence. I wise crack all the time about MSN and the mistakes they make. And here I am poochin it. Ouch!

You are one "cool" dude Frosty.

You pointed out my error and casually went into your comment. You could have hammered me like a nail yet chose not to.

And for that, I thank you.

I stand corrected.

@rockmebritney You shouldn't assume that these soldiers are forgotten after only one generation...they may have been grand, or great or even great-great-grand parents, so they're remembered for three or four or five generations.

I've got buried ancestors on both sides of several lines...my great-great grandfather (my mother's mother's mother's father) is buried in a cemetery somewhere in Oklahoma or Texas; he fought on the losing side during the Civil War--we have some very old written marching orders, still. My mother's father is buried in Corona, in California, my grandfather (Dad's dad) is in a cemetery in Corona, CA, as is my other grandfather--they're probably all in the same one. I've got two great-grandfathers buried in the Centinela Veterans Cemetery in Los Angeles (a step, he fought in the Russian Revolution--yes, the one where communism got its start--and fled here as a very young man when the lines broke to later serve in our armed forces), and great-grandmother's first husband died of tuberculosis and was a WWI veteran, he's buried in Centinela.

If someone give you a choice to choose between 1$ and 131,313.13 $ .What do you like? :)

If someone give you a choice to choose between 1$ and 131,313.13 $ then what do you choose?

13 is just a number. If the Pope had chosen Thursday the 12th to kill all the Templers, then 12 would be an unlucky number...

It's a lie. 13 is a very solid number, people tell you it's unlucky because they don't want to share the spoils with you.

How many stripes on the American flag?

When Jesus and his group were walking down the street, how many men did people see walking together?

13 is a prime number. It's still a prime number when the digits are reversed.

13 is a happy number. A happy number is defined by the following process. Starting with any positive integer, replace the number by the sum of the squares of its digits, and repeat the process until the number equals 1 (where it will stay), or it loops endlessly in a cycle which does not include 1. Those numbers for which this process ends in 1 are happy numbers, while those that do not end in 1 are unhappy numbers (or sad numbers).

It is one of only three known Wilson prime numbers. The other two are 5 and 563.

The apparitions of the Virgin of Fátima in 1917 were claimed to occur on the 13th of six consecutive months.

In Judaism, 13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and becomes a Bar Mitzvah

Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain wore the number 13 on his jersey throughout his NBA career.

There are 13 notes, by inclusive counting, in a full chromatic musical octave.

13 is the number of guns in a gun salute to U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps Major Generals, and Navy and Coast Guard Rear Admirals Upper Half.

There are 13 leaves on the olive branch (as well as thirteen olives) on the great Seal of the United States.

Thank you freedman....I have always considered 13 to be my personal lucky number; wore it on all my sports jerseys up until college (guess nobody wanted it, as they thought it was 'unlucky').

Its about time the unfounded superstitious beliefs stopped...its just a number, just like any other.

Except that poor 13th egg who went from a loving family to being homeless with the flip of a lid.

Sadly, the headstones don't even look as if they needed to be replaced. I am not sure what is truly going on here but I suspect it's something very unpleasant. And at this point. If they find the stones were replaced I would love to help these folks find the descendants of these soldiers and pass the makers along to them. Or maybe they should be placed at the Arlington Cemetery. They should not be simply destroyed. I don't ever hear of headstones being replaced at the expense of a cemetery. Unless I have missed something and they do this for military personnel. But I highly doubt it. Especially since our Govt. does not take care of our living veterans in a manner that they should be.

@ Mr. Ramon Miller. I would love to help you find the descendants to these fine folks. I am a genealogist and would help for free.

Have a great day everyone. God Bless Our Troops.

And dont forget about a "Bakers Dozen" being 13. You cant tell me 13 doughnuts versus 12 is not better.

I would suggest that the previous owners of the property be researched. Then ask the owners at the time indicated on the markers why the markers are in the backyard. My guess is that the markers were sold/given away as salvage.

Sorry Robert, that went over my head. Probably something quite pithy, but I'm not getting it.

There are 12 eggs in a carton. The poor egg was left out.....yes, it was extremely "pithy".

Oh.

:-)

Guess the yolk's on you.

Crap. They do a great job. They have helped me immensely and they are good and caring people.

I think that is exactly what happened. Someone figured they would make nice steps and just took them home.

Hey - reduce / reuse / recycle.

They could grind the engravings off, and repurpose the obsolete stones (instead of destroying them.)

Wonder what the 'destroyed' stones are used for - small crushed rock, or powdered ag lime?

I think that's probably it too, but it would be kind of creepy to me. Either way, I could never do it without the permission of the family. But, we don't know, maybe they did ask first.

Does your husband tell you all of his thoughts or just the ones with amazing insight?

Why don't they just use a stone cutters saw & slice the old names off of them. They could then slice them up for pavers. As thick as they are they could get at least 3 out of each stone. Pavers are only around 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" thick.

I live about 35 miles from Andersonville Civil War National cemetery. That's a very sad place. They still have some of the old POW camp there. I don't know if it's original.

stc1993...(#5.1).....Re: Andersonville....I was honored to be selected to build the Brick Relief Sculptured walls at the National POW Memorial & Museum. My crew and I spent a few months there doing all the brickwork on the buildings and Memorial Garden. It was chilling to read about and see the "Dead Line", etc. and how theses POW's were treated.

http://www.americanroads.net/Andersonville-pow.htm

stc1993 and Mike in Delray

Both of your comments have sparked my interest in learning more about these locations and events.

"Andersonville" "Dead Line" etc.

Thank You

Hello Mike, What year was the museum built? I've been there a few times, that's where everyone meets to go to DC for Rolling Thunder.

stc1993....We did our work on the walls, buildings, etc in 1997. It was opened in 1998, we went back for the Dedication Ceremony and got to meet the woman sculptor that produced the bricks for the Relief Walls ( they were all numbered, it was like a giant jig-saw puzzle)....It was a humbling experience...

You're from around there, we stayed in Americus, and can you imagine the conditions for the POW's with the weather you have there...Pre- Air Conditioning !!!!

Thumbs-Up and God Bless America for Rolling Thunder !!

@STC1993...Is there any chance Rolling Thunder could allow those of us who want to pay our respects at Arlington to actually use the cemetery this year? Last year, I went to visit a friend there. I was trapped for over 45 minutes on the wrong side of the road, mere steps from his grave, because Rolling Thunder didn't have the courtesy to stop their little parade long enough to let people cross the road! It was miserable and loud and it didn't help when the motorcyclists just waved at the ever-increasing crowds they'd trapped on the limited paths like we were actually enjoying being stranded on the sides of the road in the heat. (Believe me, we weren't)

Don't get me wrong, I respect what you do. However, show some respect for those of us who are just trying to get around. Memorial Day is a time for all of us to remember those who didn't come home, and being a jackass with a bike shouldn't be prerequesite.

Yeats: "pass by."

Thanks, cold eye.

How about YOU run it, then.

As a combat disbaled vet........SURE, I'll take the job, and the first thing I would do is find a country other than China to supply needed goods that our vets need and use on a daily basis. The junk they provide now is typical of Chinese sentiment and quality control.

Dave Thomas - I AGREE!

Off topic I know. But,

Use American made for American Vets. Simple as that, period!

USMC Vet.

They had some army troops that wore the berets. They quit wearing them because they started uying them from China.

The article never stated there wasn't more than thirteen. Just that thirteen were related to a military cemetery.

Comprehension in the face of insults often blinds the reader.

"Miller says by the law, the initial headstones are supposed to be removed and then smashed to pieces beyond recognition. He added the next step in this case will be verify to the families of the ones found that all is well and they can call the cemetery or come out to see for themselves. Meanwhile, Jason Blackburn's got to do some more digging....to fill the 13 holes left with the removal of the 300-pound headstones. But, hey, living in Midtown.....you never know." ~ Fox News Memphis -

http://tinyurl.com/8y4rr3g

"Midtown resident Jason Blackburn learned a little cemetery history as 20 headstones were removed from his backyard Tuesday." ~ The Commercial Appeal -

http://tinyurl.com/6oellhf

I think the 13 were military...the others were a spouse & child. so the article states.

Yes, the stones were updated - just like it says in the story (now - sometimes the stories are also updated later):

"The found gravestones are “old headstones” that have been replaced by newer markers after the death of a spouse or child, he said."

Some employee at the cemetery retrieved these from the scrap heap before they were destroyed. The policy was to destroy them - probably to avoid confusion or concern about possible unmarked graves, or embarrassment for a family if the marker is used as a restaurant decoration or some other inappropriate use. They may have some value as future crushed rock, so the government is recovering the property.

Most private tombstones leave room on the original headstone so the spouse can be added later - guess the National Cemetery uses a different method (make a new marker and destroy the old one.)

Have you discovered anything interesting thomas?

tombstone - a stone that is used to mark a grave

monument, memorial - a structure erected to commemorate persons or events

The property owner read the names, looked them up, and found the National Cemetery where the persons were buried (mentioned in the story).

Ain't the internet great?

katy1896814

I agree with mailman8. The internet is great.

Katy. I am curious how you can question the link between the stones and a National Cemetary yet know "for sure" they are Government issued.

DA - One can tell they're government issued because of the design.

My oldest brother died in 1979 he has one just like the ones in the story. The ones with the cross means they were christian. They put a star on the Jewish ones. That's the only two I've ever seen.

Vera

I thought the same thing. Memorials??? Rarely is that ever used.

Tombstone: a stone marker, usually inscribed, on a tomb or grave. Headstone: a memorial stone at the head of grave. Gravestone: a burial monument.

All of the above are "memorials", however, very seldom do we use the word memorial when referring to the marker at the head of a burial site. Again, you would be correct in saying "they found 13 memorials in his back yard" but most people you encounter today would respond with "what do you mean, memorial? I see tombstones in that picture."