Speaker 1: Welcome to brain stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren voge obam here. Back in eighteen sixty four, the
Speaker 1: Union was running out of space to bury Civil War casualties.
Speaker 1: Military officials decided to solve the problem by appropriating part
Speaker 1: of the Arlington, Virginia plantation that belonged to Mary Anne
Speaker 1: Custis Lee, the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee,
Speaker 1: and turning it into a military burial ground. Private William Christman,
Speaker 1: a one year old soldier from Pennsylvania who died of
Speaker 1: the measles before he got a chance to see combat,
Speaker 1: was the first to be buried there, according to the
Speaker 1: Arlington National Cemetery website. Though neither Robert E. Lee nor
Speaker 1: his wife ever tried to return to the former plantation,
Speaker 1: their eldest son eventually filed a lawsuit claiming the land
Speaker 1: had been illegally seized. In an eighteen eighty two decision,
Speaker 1: the U Supreme Court agreed and Congress had to purchase
Speaker 1: the property from him for a hundred and fifty thousand
Speaker 1: dollars so that the National Cemetery could continue in the
Speaker 1: years that followed. Arlington National Cemetery, which cover six hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty four acres that's two hundred and fifty two
Speaker 1: hectors across the Potomac River from Washington, d C. Became
Speaker 1: perhaps the nation's most hallowed ground, the final resting place
Speaker 1: for many of the nation's military heroes, from General Douglas
Speaker 1: MacArthur and Private Addi Murphy, the most decorated soldier of
Speaker 1: World War Two, two service members killed in the recent
Speaker 1: conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also buried at Arlington are explorers, astronauts,
Speaker 1: and Supreme Court justices. The grave of President John F. Kennedy,
Speaker 1: marked with a gas and electric eternal flame that's designed
Speaker 1: to remain lighted despite wind and rain, attracted more than
Speaker 1: sixteen million mourners in the first three years after his
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three assassination. But the cemetery, which has become
Speaker 1: the final resting place for more than four hundred thousand people,
Speaker 1: is rapidly filling up, with more than seven thousand being
Speaker 1: added each year. According to a report prepared by cemetery
Speaker 1: officials for Congress in twenty seventeen, there are fewer than
Speaker 1: seventy thousand spaces left, and even with the current expansion
Speaker 1: project that will add nearly eleven thousand below ground graves
Speaker 1: and sixteen thousand, four hundred above ground spots. The cemetery
Speaker 1: is projected to be full by the early twenty forties.
Speaker 1: The report said, A and C and those it exists
Speaker 1: to serve, must therefore confront the reality that at some
Speaker 1: point in the future the cemetery will no longer continue
Speaker 1: to operate as it does today. Most veterans from the
Speaker 1: recent wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terrorism
Speaker 1: will not have the option to be buried at A
Speaker 1: and C. Even our heroes who are killed in action
Speaker 1: or those who have earned the Medal of Honor will
Speaker 1: not be buried at A and C with an approximately
Speaker 1: three decades due to a lack of space. At a
Speaker 1: March twenty eighteen hearing by the House Armed Services Committee,
Speaker 1: Karen Durham aquilera executive director of the Army's National Military Cemeteries,
Speaker 1: further described the predicament. She explained in an Army media release,
Speaker 1: the current veteran population is over twenty million, The retiree
Speaker 1: population is over two million. The total force, both active
Speaker 1: and reserve, is over two million. Right now today, we
Speaker 1: have around a hundred thousand available burials basis, we cannot
Speaker 1: serve that population. Even a proposed two hundred and seventy
Speaker 1: four million dollar expansion that would add another thirty eight
Speaker 1: acres that's fifteen hectors along the cemetery southern border would
Speaker 1: only buy an additional decade. That's why officials are now
Speaker 1: contemplating changing Arlington's eligibility requirements. Under the present rules, active
Speaker 1: duty members of the Armed services, as well as service
Speaker 1: members who have served at least one day of active
Speaker 1: duty and stayed in uniform long enough traditionally twenty years
Speaker 1: to earn retirement benefits, are eligible for below ground burial.
Speaker 1: So are their spouses and children, and so our recipients
Speaker 1: of various medals and prisoners of war who died after
Speaker 1: November thirtieth. In addition, active duty and retired members and
Speaker 1: their spouses and children, as well as reservists and National
Speaker 1: Guard members who die while on active duty or performing
Speaker 1: full time service, are eligible for above ground burial in
Speaker 1: the columbarium, also known as the Niche Wall. In the
Speaker 1: seen report, Army officials proposed a range of possible rule changes.
Speaker 1: The most restrictive option would allow in only those who
Speaker 1: were killed in action and or were awarded the Medal
Speaker 1: of Honor. The report said this option can be expected
Speaker 1: to result in delaying the closure of a C for
Speaker 1: at least two centuries unless our nation experiences large scale
Speaker 1: conflict and higher numbers of service members killed in action.
Speaker 1: But such a move also would exclude the vast majority
Speaker 1: of military veterans and their families and seems likely to
Speaker 1: encounter a pushback. Girardo of Vila, a deputy director of
Speaker 1: a veterans association called the American Legion, says that the
Speaker 1: issue of what to do about Arlington is still in
Speaker 1: the discussion stages, though clearly Arlington is reaching capacity and
Speaker 1: something needs to be done. In a resolution at the
Speaker 1: American Legions twenty sixteen convention, the organization urged Congress to
Speaker 1: step in and pass a law that would limit Arlington
Speaker 1: to service members who die on active duty, winners of
Speaker 1: the Medal of Honor and other decorations, World War Two
Speaker 1: era veterans who left the service, thirty or more, disabled,
Speaker 1: prisoners of war, and career service members. We spoke via
Speaker 1: email with John Towell's director of National Security and Foreign
Speaker 1: Affairs for the organization a Veterans of Foreign Wars. The
Speaker 1: group is opposed to severe restrictions on eligibility for interment
Speaker 1: at Arlington. He said, we advocate for a solution that
Speaker 1: will ensure that the benefits that they earned through their
Speaker 1: service remain available to them. Because of this, the VFW
Speaker 1: cannot support changes that would take benefits away from veterans
Speaker 1: and family members who have already earned them, many of
Speaker 1: whom have already made plans to be buried at Arlington.
Speaker 1: Another option to restricting eligibility for Arlington would be to
Speaker 1: create a non contiguous annex on land around the Armed
Speaker 1: Forces Retirement Home Campus in Washington, d C. About eight
Speaker 1: and a half miles that's thirteen and a half kilometers away.
Speaker 1: Table said that much of the site's expanse would be
Speaker 1: available the United States Soldiers and Airmen's Home National Cemetery,
Speaker 1: another burial ground operated by the Army, already is nearby,
Speaker 1: but if it becomes more difficult to be buried at Arlington,
Speaker 1: veterans still have the option of being buried at another
Speaker 1: of the hundred and thirty five national cemeteries that the
Speaker 1: National Cemetery Administration operates in forty States and Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1: They would still be entitled to the same ceremony, presidential
Speaker 1: memorial certificate, and perpetual care of their graves that those
Speaker 1: interred at Arlington received. Today's episode was written by Patrick J.
Speaker 1: Tiger and produced by Tyler Klang. For more on this
Speaker 1: and lots of other honorable topics, visit our home planet,
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