sion of that cemetery. However, since this cemetery was designated a national cemetery, no funds have been expended for any development. In other words, we have a little old post cemetery; we have no facilities; there are no public comfort rooms; there is no building in which our cemetery superintendent can keep his equipment out of the weather, except a little wooden shed which was constructed in one corner. What we propose to do is to round off the old cemetery to an area of just 5 acres, putting in the necessary facilities, including plumbing, heating, and lighting and a small building, which I assure you is a very modest type. We have been getting increasing pressure from the veterans in the Denver area to develop this cemetery, and while our rates of burial have been fairly low, we anticipate they will go up rather rapidly as we make the cemetery an attractive place in which those veterans would like to be buried.

GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL CEMETERY, CALIF.

In the Golden Gate National Cemetery, where we have 54,689 developed gravesites of which 29,765 will be used by June 30, 1954, the item of $47,300 is basically for rehabilitation of our water system. In that particular area we find that the cemetery must be watered for at least 6 months out of the year in order to maintain our turf. We have our own water supply, which consists of three deep wells. In the last several years we have found that these wells are rapidly filling up with sand due to the geological formation of that area, and it is necessary that one well in particular must be completely cleaned out, since we are getting practically no water from it at the present time. The expense here involves the installation of the necessary sand traps and piping at all of these wells in order to eliminate the sand from the outflow of water, which of course will also eliminate the difficulty we have with the nozzles of the sprinklers clogging up with sand, a situation which has become serious in the last several years.

ACTUAL EXPENSE

Senator ROBERTSON. Colonel, in connection with the charts showing the increase in the number of burials in Government cemeteries, will you tell us what expense the Government has when the veteran is buried in a Government cemetery?

Colonel MARTZ. The actual expense which we have at that particular time is limited to the opening of the grave, the services of the superintendent or his assistant in arranging for the funeral, the closing of the grave, replacing the sod, installing a temporary marker, and then at a later date the permanent marker as soon as one can be obtained. Senator ROBERTSON. The family purchases the casket!

Colonel MARTZ. For a veteran, sir, that is true. A man who is a veteran does receive an allowance from the Veterans' Administration to help defray the cost of the actual funeral expenses.

Senator ROBERTSON. How much is that?

Colonel MARTZ. Approximately $150, I believe it is, at the present time.

Senator ROBERTSON. Is there any Government agency that furnishes caskets at Government cost to families of veterans?

Colonel MARTZ. To the veterans, no, sir; in the case of men who are on active duty, the situation is a little different. A man dying on

active duty is provided with necessary embalming services, casket, and transportation of remains and escort, at Government expense. This expense is paid from appropriated military funds, not cemeterial funds.

Senator ROBERTSON. I remember distinctly when I was assistant camp adjutant at Camp Lee when 500 men were dying per day, and the Commanding General told me to write the travel orders-I had never written one-and I called a field clerk of the Headquarters Company to write the orders. They evidently were in proper form as we furnished the caskets.

Colonel MARTZ. That is correct. A man on active duty has all expenses taken care of by the Armed Forces. If he is a veteran, he gets an allowance from the Veterans' Administration.

Senator ROBERTSON. But if he dies when he is not on active duty, the family buys the coffin and pays the transportation.

Colonel MARTZ. That is correct, sir.

Senator ROBERTSON. What option do they have as to where he will be buried?

Colonel MARTZ. That is entirely at the option of the family.

Senator ROBERTSON. Anybody who wants to be buried in Arlington can secure that privilege?

Colonel MARTZ. Yes, sir, providing he is a veteran with an honorable discharge, or providing he is a member of the active forces. Senator ROBERTSON. That is all, Mr. Chairman.

LONG ISLAND NATIONAL CEMETERY, N. Y.

Colonel MARTZ. I will proceed with the Long Island National Cemetery, sir. The Long Island Cemetery is the most active of all of our national cemeteries, because it covers the greater New York area. At the present time we have 124.82 acres developed, except for certain access roads, with 69,919 gravesites of which 42,840 will be used by June 30, 1954. We have an additional 239.18 acres of land which is available for future development. At our present rate of burial, which at Long Island in 1953 was 3,835 burials, plus 883 reservations, we find that we will run out of accessible grave space by the end of fiscal year 1955, due to the fact that 5 to 6 areas must be available for funerals at the same hour. The only items we are requesting here are for the addition of a portion of the road system, which is needed to make additional space in the cemetery available for burial purposes.

A small amount of that item is also involved in the necessary drainage and catch basins in connection with the development of the road network.

Senator DwORSHAK. Why do you feel that all of these particular improvements are necessary at this time? Did you ask for them last year and preceding years?

Colonel MARTZ. In certain cases some of these were asked for in preceding years and were eliminated, when it was determined that we could get along for another year, in order to conserve funds. But the time has arrived when we can no longer do that.

Senator DWORSHAK. Has the Budget Bureau approved these items? Colonel MARTZ. Yes, sir. The Budget Bureau has approved all these items, including a study of the engineering drawings and so forth. Senator DwORSHAK. Continue.

SAN FRANCISCO NATIONAL CEMETERY, CALIF.

Colonel MARTZ. In the San Francisco National Cemetery we have asked for an item of $4,500. This is required for repairs to the foundation walls of the cemetery lodge in order to protect our investment. We have found over the period of the last 4 or 5 years that a considerable sinking of the walls in the 1 wing of the lodge has been taking place, and if not repaired in the immediate future will cause considerable damage to that particular building. This building was constructed in 1929, and we feel that with these repairs it will be good for another 50 years. This cemetery consists of 28 acres with 21,666 gravesites of which 20,875 will be used by June 30, 1954.

WILLAMETTE NATIONAL CEMETERY, OREG.

In the Willamette Cemetery where we have asked for our largest sum as far as dollars are concerned, we are again in a very critical condition in regard to burial space. This is one of the projects which was deferred from last year. At the rate of burial shown on this particular chart we expect to run out of grave space about April or May of 1955. There are 3,626 gravesites in the presently developed area, of which 2,720 will be used by June 30, 1954. It therefore is necessary for us to expand this cemetery during the fiscal year 1955 and in addition put enough steam behind our contractor to insure that he will have some space available by May of 1955, or we will be in the position of having to turn away veterans who are entitled to burial.

Senator DwORSHAK. You already have land available?
Colonel MARTZ. Yes, sir, the land is available.

COMPARISON OF BUDGET ESTIMATE

Senator ROBERTSON. Colonel, how does your budget estimate for 1955 compare with the amount that was given you for fiscal 1954? Colonel MARTZ. In this particular item, sir?

Senator ROBERTSON. No, I mean overall.

Colonel MARTZ. Our overall request, sir, for this year is $5,635,000 compared to $5,107,000 last year, which represents an increase of $528,000.

Senator ROBERTSON. And what percentage of increase is that?
Colonel MARTZ. That is roughly a 10 percent increase, sir.

Senator ROBERTSON. I do not anticipate that we will have any witness that will urge us to cut that down and not have enough space to bury the veterans.

Colonel MARTZ. That is the problem we are faced with, gentlemen. I assure you we have gone over these most carefully, and whittled down our projects to what we feel we really must have in order to provide the service which we are charged with providing.

Senator DwORSHAK. Did you ask for the funds for the Willamette National Cemetery improvement last year?

Colonel MARTZ. Yes, sir, that was asked for last year and the estimate was made that we could get by for 1 more year.

Senator ROBERTSON. I understand the effect of your testimony is that the amount carried in the budget is the minimum required, and you will try to make it go, but you are not too sure you can!

Colonel MARTZ. In several instances that is certainly true.
Senator ROBERTSON. Yes.

Senator HAYDEN. He testified that he requested of the budget an additional half million.

REASON FOR INCREASE IN REQUIREMENTS

Colonel MARTZ. That is right. The basic reasons why our request is approximately 10 percent heavier than last year is, first, our burial requirements are going up every year; and second, our requirements for headstones have also gone up a comparable amount during the past year, and we anticipate that that rate will continue in succeeding years. So as we analyze the problem, we are faced with a situation where our demand for services is going to continue to increase year after year, and we are probably going to be asking for a comparable increase each year in order to provide these services.

I have a chart here, gentlemen, that shows that particular picture. Each bar shows the rate of annual interments in the national cemetery system, starting in 1943, and going up to our projected figures for 1955. The small sections in green represent our burials of Korean battle casualties, which were in addition to the normal rate of increase of veterans and members of the Armed Forces. This gives a very graphic picture of how our demands are going up every year.

KOREAN BATTLE CASUALTIES

Senator DWORSHAK. How many of our soldiers are buried in Korea

now?

Colonel MARTZ. We have none buried in Korea at the present time with the exception of three unknowns who are still in the United Nations Military Cemetery near Pusan.

Senator DWORSHAK. What does that figure on the chart represent? Colonel MARTZ. These figures are for the national cemeteries in the United States and the Territories.

Senator DwORSHAK. The Korean casualties?

Colonel MARTZ. These are Korean battle casualties returned to the United States and now buried in national cemeteries. Of course, a larger number are buried in private cemeteries. I might expand on one point, sir, that we do have a number of burials in North Korea which we have not yet been able to recover. That is a matter for our military budget, rather than this one.

BURIAL ALLOWANCE

Senator HAYDEN. What does it cost the Government with respect to interment in a private cemetery?

Colonel MARTZ. In the case of private cemeteries, sir, we give a family an allowance to help cover their burial expenses. That allowance at the present time is $125.

Senator HAYDEN. And then subsequent to that you furnish a headstone?

Colonel MARTZ. That is correct, sir.

Senator ROBERTSON. Is that in addition to what the Veterans' Administration may allow or is that all?

Colonel MARTZ. No, sir; that is all. That is not a conflict with thecontribution by the Veterans' Administration.

Senator HAYDEN. If they take care of that you do not have to?

Colonel MARTZ. Let me explain the point. The burial allowances which we make are from the military appropriation and are for men in active service. In the case of a man on duty now, who dies today, in an automobile accident downtown, or from a heart attack, we bury him in a national cemetery if the family so desires. In that case we do make a small allowance to help cover the expenses which the family may have in connection with the funeral. If the family prefers the individual to be buried in a private cemetery, we make an allowance up to a maximum of $125.

Senator ROBERTSON. If he is not in service when he dies, the Veterans' Administration will give him $150?

Colonel MARTZ. That is correct, sir.

Senator DwORSHAK. Are you through with that item?

PRELIMINARY PLANNING

Colonel MARTZ. One small item, sir, the last one under construction, is an item for $20,000, which we have listed for preliminary planning data for fiscal year 1957. In other words, we plan several years ahead as to what construction is required and what expansion is required in our various cemeteries.

Senator DWORSHAK. Last year we gave you $15,000 for comprehensive special studies and plans for correcting the construction deficiencies in the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater, and these funds were turned over to the Corps of Engineers. Was this survey completed?

Colonel MARTZ. It has not been completed. It is now under way. A contract was let by the Engineers with a reputable architectural firm to conduct the studies. It was estimated that the complete study would require a full year due to the changes of weather and temperature which are apparently causing most of the damage to the structure of the amphitheater. As of today, the 25th of January, there is an inspection going on, by some specialized technicians. They are also opening up several of the plastered areas in the trophy room of the amphitheater today to try to determine what has been causing some of the difficulties there.

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY SPACE

Senator DwORSHAK. How many graves do you have in Arlington National Cemetery today?

Colonel MARTZ. At the present time, sir, the overall grave space in Arlington Cemetery is 203,739. Of that area, 70 percent is developed as of now. The other 30 percent will require additional development in future years. No development is required in this coming year.

Senator DwORSHAK. How many persons are buried there now? Do you have that figure with you? You can provide it for the record if you do not have it.

Colonel MARTZ. We can provide that for the record. I have only the percentage here.