NC veterans cemeteries are not in full dress

As the burial rate rises at North Carolina’s state-managed cemeteries for veterans, officials say they’re embarrassed by how bedraggled some have become.

And that’s inspiring a push for more spending — although some legislators are looking at alternatives.

Just this month, Gov. Pat McCrory publicly apologized to the family of a Marine who, before he succumbed to leukemia, had told his mother he didn’t want to be buried in the Jacksonville state veterans’ cemetery. Michael Boffo, who died in August 2014, had deemed the grounds a “mess” after touring the site for a dignified plot, and chose to be buried in Virginia, the family says.

“I’ve been to these cemeteries now, and frankly, they’re in bad shape and do not reflect the gratitude North Carolina’s citizens have for our veterans,” McCrory said Jan. 15 at a Gulf War anniversary event in Raleigh. He told the crowd he would ask the General Assembly to designate money for improvements.

In a recent presentation to a legislative panel, Cornell Wilson, head of the state’s new Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, showed a slide that depicted an orange hazard cone next to a line of grave markers on patchy, sandy grounds.