Conditions at VA Cemeteries

* On Memorial Day, America will again honor veterans who served and protected our country from foreign tyranny. The president and congressional leaders will preside over elaborate ceremonies paying homage to our fallen heroes as well as to further their own political careers. At the same time, these politicians have drastically cut the budget to maintain national cemeteries where many that have given their lives for our country are interned.

Patchy, overgrown grass and weeds are becoming commonplace because groundkeeping staffs have been terminated due to lack of funding. And even inexpensive amenities are being eliminated. Since 1978, Riverside National Cemetery has provided reusable floral cones so that family and friends could brighten up these hallowed grounds. The minimal cost of supplying these reusable cones was too much for the budget-cutting politicians. But at the same time, the administration has found taxpayer funds to frivolously supply color portrait photos of the president and the secretary of veterans affairs for prominent display at all VA facilities.

Could these floral cones be supplied by voluntary contributions from corporate, funeral or veterans’ associations? Perhaps politicians ought to evaluate the allocation of political portrait funds for the worthy cause of honoring our fallen veterans.

HOWARD H. FRANKEL

Huntington Beach