In defense of management, Steve Muro, the director of the cemetery, says it’s true there is some debris on the premises, most of it from the construction of the airport, and it is beyond the depth that veterans are buried at. For him, Fort Snelling National Cemetery remains a hallowed sanctuary for those that served our country.
On Dec. 24, Kathy Carlson, a spokeswoman for the MPCA, said they will require cemetery officials to conduct soil and water tests, and dig trenches at the cemetery and other areas to determine whether there is contamination.
Local veterans are unwilling to rush to judgment. They feel there are too many gray areas, unanswered questions, and not enough information available. Relatives and friends of deceased veterans, who declined to be named, and who were pres-ent at funerals, have said that they didn’t see anything unusual and are fairly certain their loved one is not in the contaminated area.
Locals were somewhat surprised at the accusations but the feeling around Paynesville is once they are laid to rest, it’s final, no matter what kind of discoveries you make about the place later on. “I think they should leave it alone...don’t dig it up”, says Hubert Schwandt, Paynesville and an ex-POW veteran himself. Commander Joe Kremer of the Paynesville American Legion says the matter is under investigation and the Legion has taken “no stand on the issue” at this time. Kremer said their stance was influenced by media reports that the people who have come forward with information are “disgruntled employees.”
According to Legion records, Paynesville has 28 veterans buried at Fort Snelling.
Editor’s note: This matter is currently being investigated by the inspector general’s office of the U.S. Veteran’s Affairs Department. The investigation is expected to be completed by mid-January.