VA threatened with lawsuit over German POW headstones that feature swastikas

The Department of Veterans Affairs may soon be headed to federal court over the headstones of German POWs buried in national veterans cemeteries.

Mikey Weinstein, an Air Force veteran who chairs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, objects to headstones for the deceased that include swastikas.

Inscriptions on the headstones also read: “He died far from his home for the Führer, people and fatherland.”

Mr. Weinstein wants the symbols “eradicated and eradicated now,” Military.com reported Tuesday.

“This is completely and totally wrong,” he said.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has also weighed in on the matter, the website reported.

“The VA’s decision to leave the swastikas in place, as well as the messages honoring Hitler, while ignoring calls to take the headstones down, is callous, irresponsible and unacceptable,” the Florida Democrat, who also chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, said.

VA’s National Cemetery Administration has countered criticism by saying its hands are legally tied — the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 prevents the headstones from being altered.

“[Our obligation is] to protect historic resources, including those that recognize divisive historical figures or events,” the administration said in a statement, Military.com added.

Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas possesses the remains of two POWs and Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Utah has a third.