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I'm hoping he gets disinterred (is that even a word?)

OC

Killer's Remains Buried at Arlington
After Death in Prison, Vet Gets Full Military Honors


Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington is widely viewed as one of the nation's most hallowed burial grounds.


HAGERSTOWN, Md. (Aug. 4) - The remains of an Army veteran convicted of stabbing an elderly couple to death were interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

Russell W. Wagner, 52, died Feb. 2 in prison, where he was serving two consecutive life sentences for the Valentine's Day 1994 killings of Daniel Davis, 84, and Wilda Davis, 80. Both were bound and repeatedly stabbed.

Wagner's cremated remains were inurned July 27 at the request of Wagner's sister, Karen Anderson, Arlington spokeswoman Lori Calvillo said.

When told by the (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail that Wagner had been convicted of killing two people, Calvillo said, "That would usually prevent you, to tell you the truth," from having a service at Arlington.

She added that if the cemetery received confirmation of Wagner's conviction, the records would be forwarded to the Army General Counsel, which reviews rules for the cemetery.

Vernon Davis, the son of the couple Wagner killed, is himself an Army veteran and was disturbed to hear that his parents' convicted killer was given military honors.

"It disturbed me when I heard it," he said. "I thought it was completely wrong."

The sister, Anderson, could not immediately reached for comment. There was no listing under her name in Silver Spring, where her brother's obituary said she lived.

Prosecutors said Wagner killed the Davises to settle a debt of back rent he owed to their son-in-law. He was tried on murder charges in 1996, but a mistrial was declared when jurors could not reach a verdict.

He was arrested again in 2001 after FBI scientists obtained DNA from a single strand of hair found on a glove recovered from a neighbor's back porch. He was convicted in 2002.


08/04/05 12:08 EDT

Let's hope his remains are removed promptly. He never should have been interred there in the first place.

Fender
"A woman drove me to drink
and I hadn't even the courtesy to thank her".
W.C. Fields

What i want to know is what he did to get IN to begin with.

Silver Star for valor, what?

Getting into Arlington usually means you were a big time war hero.

<b>There are two kinds of soldiers.
Snipers...and targets.</b>
<img src="http://www.creedmoorsports.com/images/SA9121-M21.JPG" border=0>

No refference to what made him eligible is odd. I would like to know also.

By this time tomorrow I shall have gained either a pearage or Westminster Abbey........Nelson

_________________
YGBSM !

I mean seriously, there are a LOT of legitimate hero's that don't qualify or get in, so at some point this character must've done something pretty damned extraordinary to earn the honor.

Of course i agree that whatever it was, he flushed it right down the toilet because he's a murdering scum bag. <img src=newicons/anim_cussing.gif border=0 align=middle>

<b>There are two kinds of soldiers.
Snipers...and targets.</b>
<img src="http://www.creedmoorsports.com/images/SA9121-M21.JPG" border=0>

The eligibility requirements might surprise everyone here, they aren't all that spectacular and probably a lot of us qualify.

Sec. 2412. Arlington National Cemetery: persons eligible for burial

`(a) PRIMARY ELIGIBILITY- The remains of the following individuals may be buried in Arlington National Cemetery:

`(1) Any member of the Armed Forces who dies while on active duty.

`(2)(A) Any retired member of the Armed Forces.

`(B) Any member or former member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces--

`(i) who served on active duty;

`(ii) who was honorably discharged from such active duty service;

`(iii) who, at the time of death, was under 60 years of age; and

`(iv) who, but for age, would have been eligible at the time of death for retired pay under chapter 1223 of title 10.

`(3) Any former member of the Armed Forces separated for physical disability before October 1, 1949, who--

`(A) served on active duty; and

`(B) would have been eligible for retirement under the provisions of section 1201 of title 10 (relating to retirement for disability) had that section been in effect on the date of separation of the member.

`(4) Any former member of the Armed Forces whose last active duty military service terminated honorably and who has been awarded one of the following decorations:

`(A) Medal of Honor.

`(B) Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, or Navy Cross.

`(C) Distinguished Service Medal.

`(D) Silver Star.

`(E) Purple Heart.

`(5) Any former prisoner of war who dies on or after November 30, 1993.

`(6) Any member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who dies in the performance of duty while on active duty for training or inactive duty training.

`(7) The President or any former President.

OC