Robby's Law for War Dog Handlers & Burial Refused at Arlington for WASP
Robby’s Law for Dog Handlers
In September 2012, Army veteran Daniel, (not his real name because he is still on active duty) and about 18 other soldiers boarded a flight back to North Carolina; their deployment was over.
Within moments of deplaning, the handlers got to pat their dogs on the head, say their goodbyes, then watch as the dogs—and all their equipment, down to their shredded leashes — were boarded on a truck and driven away. The only solace these soldiers had was the knowledge that they could apply to adopt their dogs, and that the passage of Robby’s Law in November 2000 would protect that right.
But more than three years later, Daniel still doesn’t have Oogie. The dog has vanished. He is one of at least 200 military handlers whose dogs were secretly dumped out to civilians by K2 Solutions in February 2014, a New York Post investigation has found.
Join us with our guest New York Post writer Maureen Callahan who broke the original story.
Ms. Harmon Request for Burial at Arlington – DENIED
Shortly after Elaine D. Harmon died last April at the age of 95, her family found a letter in a fireproof box with explicit instructions: She wanted her ashes placed at Arlington National Cemetery.
“Even if there are no ashes left, I would like an empty urn placed at Arlington,” wrote Mrs. Harmon, who had been part of a 1,000-women unit during World War II that transported military planes and bombers, and trained men to fly them.
But 10 months later, Mrs. Harmon has not had a funeral, memorial service or burial. A large black box of her ashes sits on a shelf above some blouses and sweaters in her daughter’s bedroom closet in a condominium in this Washington suburb. Mrs. Harmon’s family has delayed laying her to rest because the Army, which oversees Arlington National Cemetery, says her wartime unit—known as the WASPs, shorthand for Women Airforce Service Pilots—was not technically part of the military. Thus, the Army ruled, her ashes cannot be placed in a columbarium there. The Army also argues that the cemetery—where more than 400,000 veterans, their spouses and others are buried — is running out of space for graves and urns. Read here
Elaine Harmon’s granddaughter Erin Miller provides us with an update on this outrage.
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