Investigations by Salon.com into the mismanagement of remains at the nation's most revered military cemetery has led to the firing of top cemetery officials and an admittance by the Army of serious problems at the cemetery. Army Secretary John McHugh told a Pentagon press conference today that an Army investigation found widespread problems of misidentification and improper record keeping at Arlington National Cemetery. McHugh also said that the Army has forced out two top cemetery officials because of the findings.

The Army launched its probe following a 17-part investigation by Salon.com reporter Mark Benjamin. Benjamin first started his expose of the alleged irregularities last year.

Benjamin's investigation began when he learned that in 2003, cemetery workers preparing to bury a soldier in what was supposed to be an empty plot discovered unmarked remains in the plot. Cemetery officials reportedly responded by covering up the grave with dirt and grass, and kept quiet until Salon uncovered the story. Benjamin combed through internal cemetery and government documents and found similar mistakes dating back as far as 1981 and as recently as last year. Besides unidentified remains, these mistakes included a master sergeant buried on top of a staff sergeant. The gaffe was only discovered when the staff sergeant's wife visited his grave only to find the wrong headstone. Information from confidential sources suggests these kinds of problems are systemic and occur with disturbing frequency.

Read the full story here.

McHugh said the Army's investigation will continue under the guidance of new management. Arlington National Cemetery is in Arlington, Virginia and is the final resting place of over 320,000 veterans. It calls itself "our nation's most sacred shrine."

Mark Benjamin is an award-winning investigative reporter with Salon.com's Washington bureau. Since 2001, Benjamin has focused on national security issues with an emphasis on the plight of returning veterans and detainee abuse. He was hailed for exposing problems caring for veterans at Walter Reed starting in early 2005. Benjamin is the winner of a Raymond Clapper Memorial Award for the best reporting from Washington, a Fourth Estate Award from the American Legion, a Mental Health Media Award from the National Mental Health Association, an Outstanding Media Coverage Award from the National Gulf War Resource Center, a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism, and a Project Censored Award and was twice a finalist for the Online News Association's Online Journalism Awards.

About Salon Media Group

Salon Media Group (Ticker Symbol: SLNM.OB) is the home of Salon.com, the pioneering online community The Well, and the innovative blogging community Open Salon. Salon.com is the trusted, award-winning website that is creating an entirely new form of journalism: combining the high standards of traditional media with the commitment to audience participation and engagement that distinguishes new media. Salon has become the go-to site for informed and engaged people who care about what really matters. The site combines original investigative stories, breaking news, provocative personal essays, highly respected criticism and a stable of popular staff-written blogs about politics, technology and culture. Salon has offices in San Francisco, New York City and Washington D.C. More information can be found at Salon.com

Krause Taylor Associates
Robbi Peele, 415-596-7929
robbi@krause-taylor.com