ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 14, 1996 TAG: 9605140063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: TRIANGLE
SOURCE: Associated Press
Cold temperatures and severe winter storms have devastated the Quantico National Cemetery, destroying much of its vegetation and nearly a third of its flagpoles.
With Memorial Day approaching, cemetery officials have pleaded to the public for help in restoring the grounds.
``We don't have money to put into plants,'' said cemetery director Pat Novak. ``We don't have an unlimited source of income.''
The storm damaged azaleas and other flowers that decorate the cemetery's entrance, shelter areas and benches around the memorial park. Those azaleas that winter didn't finish off, the nearby deer population certainly did, cemetery volunteer Bette Begley said.
``The bushes are destroyed,'' she said.
The cemetery also needs to replace 125 of the 350 flagpoles that line the ``Avenue of Honor.'' The weather has rusted them or bent them in half, cemetery maintenance foreman Paul Graham said.
``You can't put the American flag on a disgraced pole,'' Novak said.
Cutbacks in funding to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs have hampered the cemetery's ability to spend money on beautification projects, she said.
``Our primary responsibility is to bury the dead,'' she said. ``When we are hit with damage like this, we don't have the government resources to replace these poles.''
Novak and Begley have asked local civic organizations and individuals to donate flowers or money to purchase flowers or flagpoles. A flagpole costs $75.
Donations may be sent to the Potomac Region Veterans Council, P.O. Box 1882, Dale City 22193, or call the cemetery at (703)221-2183.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB