Two German graves with Nazi swastikas have been removed from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and replaced with new headstones. The pair of gravestones has become a longstanding controversy over whether they were worth preserving historical artifacts or hate emblems that should be destroyed, reported CBS affiliate KENS-TV.
The cemetery director, Aubrey David, led several workers to the graves of German prisoners of war Alfred P. Kafka and Georg Forst at about 8:15 am on Wednesday.
“Clearly, it took a long time for this to happen and it is obviously the right thing to do,” said Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Liberty Foundation, which defends against unwanted religious proselytism in the armed forces.
KENS-TV
After learning about the tombstones last May, the foundation demanded that Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilke order them to be removed. The group also wanted Wilke to make “an immediate and sincere apology to all United States veterans and their families”.
The VA refused, saying it has a responsibility to preserve “historical resources”, even if they recognize divisive historical figures or events. But members of Congress, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz and representatives Will Hurd of San Antonio and Kay Granger of Fort Worth, responded by demanding removal of the tombstones.
“I am happy that the headstones have been replaced”, Deputy Joaquin Castro. “It is shocking to think that symbols of the Third Reich and the Nazi regime would be in an American military cemetery.”
It is unclear whether a third headstone that also bears Nazi symbols at Utah’s Fort Douglas Post Cemetery has also been removed.
In June, when the United States Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would begin the process of replacing tombstones, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie wrote: “Americans must always remember the horror of the Nazi regime and why so many Americans sacrificed so much to free the world from its reign of terror. It is understandably disturbing for our veterans and their families to see Nazi inscriptions close to those who gave their lives for this nation. . “