John C. Metzler Jr. (born September 12, 1947) is an American civil servant who was Superintendent of

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, from 1991 to 2010.Pickert,"A Field of Trees and Bones", ''Lost'' December 2005."McHugh Strengthens Management, Oversight at Arlington National Cemetery", press release, United States Army, June 10, 2010. He achieved notoriety in the press at the end of his tenure due to the Arlington National Cemetery mismanagement controversy.

Early life

John C. Metzler Jr. was born in 1947 to John C. Metzler Sr. and his wife Bernadette."Obituaries", ''Orlando Sentinel'', May 31, 1990. He was one of four sons. He attended schools in Arlington, Virginia, including Fort Myer Elementary School (now closed), Alice West Fleet Elementary School (formerly Patrick Henry Elementary School), and Wakefield High School.Phibbs, "On Sacred Grounds", ''Washington Times'', October 11, 1994. Metzler first moved to Arlington National Cemetery in 1951 at the age of four when his father was named the cemetery's Superintendent.Ruane, "Arlington Cemetery's Longtime Superintendent to Retire in July", ''Washington Post'', May 20, 2010.Griffith, "Arlington Welcomes Native Son", ''Washington Post'', February 17, 1991. His father, John C. Metzler Sr., presided over the burial of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

in 1963, an event the younger Metzler remembers watching while standing next to his father. Metzler says he used to play among the tombstones and trees, used to ride a sled down the cemetery's snow-covered hills, and had an "uncanny ease" with the ceremony and procedures of military burial. Cemetery personnel often permitted him to climb on the caisson or ride the ceremonial riderless horse after funerals there. His favorite places were the warehouse (where he would talk to the repairmen), his father's office in the administration building, and the overlook facing the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

on the grounds of Arlington House. Metzler lived in the cemetery until he was 19 years old. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1966, and served as a helicopter chief in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

.Hutchinson, "Memory's Caretaker", ''Sarasota Herald Tribune'', May 25, 2009. Metzler left the Army after three years. Metzler's first civilian job was repairing airplanes and helicopters. Initially, it did not seem possible for him to assume the same position as his father, as a federal law required that the Superintendent be a disabled veteran. This law was changed in 1973. With more than half of all federal cemetery managers due to retire soon, Metzler's father suggested that he begin training in cemetery management. He served a one-year apprenticeship Beverly National Cemetery in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He rose within the military cemetery management ranks over the years, serving at cemeteries in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. His last position before joining Arlington National Cemetery was as area director for the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

, where he oversaw operations at 40 national military cemeteries. Metzler and his wife, Kathy, have three sons.

Tenure at Arlington National Cemetery

When Arlington National Cemetery's then-Superintendent, Raymond J. Costanzo, retired in 1990, he urged Metzler to apply for the position. Metzler was appointed Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery in January 1991, replacing Costanzo. Metzler moved his family (his sons were teenagers in 1991) into the Superintendent's two-story lodge on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. His sons grew up without daily newspaper delivery, mail service, cable television, or home pizza delivery because cemetery rules would not permit alterations to the house or because vendors refused to deliver to "Arlington National Cemetery" (believing the orders were a joke). After assuming his position at Arlington, Metzler confronted a number of issues.

Maintenance issues

Maintenance issues proved a major problem early in his tenure. Metzler approved an offer by the National Arborist Association to provide free care to more than 650 of the cemetery's trees.Cohn, "Rooting Out Tree Trouble in Arlington", ''Washington Post'', October 17, 1993. "We have over 14,000 trees at Arlington Cemetery, and each year we're able to attend to just a few of them", Metzler said. In 1999, Metzler acknowledged at a congressional hearing that large amount of deferred maintenance (such as a large hole in the ceiling of the Memorial Amphitheater chapel, damaged sidewalks at the

Tomb of the Unknowns The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, United States is the burial site (and the white, marble sarcophagus above it) of a World War I soldier whose remains were unidentifiable. After a ...

, cracked and broken flagstones at the

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...

, and corrosion of the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame) had created a $200 million, 30-year backlog of issues.Wee, "Decay at Arlington Cemetery Dismays Lawmakers", ''Washington Post'', May 21, 1999. Metzler said the cemetery had done the best it could with limited resources, and had placed its focus on the ever-increasing number of burials and inurnments which occurred there each week.

Expansion of the cemetery

There was also increased demand for burial space within the limited grounds of the cemetery. Metzler oversaw the implementation of a $1.4 million plan (developed before his appointment as Superintendent) to clear a former parking lot to create space for new graves."Kaplow, "Arlington National Cemetery Being Expanded", ''Washington Post'', October 24, 1991. Metzler said it was his policy to "expand land a little ahead of when we need it so the land can be developed and settled after the construction." Metzler pushed for and won passage of legislation in 1999 which would transfer at the nearby

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

Annex and from

Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army Military base, post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and ...

to the cemetery. of unused space on the cemetery grounds were turned into burial space in 2006 and 2007 to allow an additional 26,000 graves and 5,000 inurnments. In 2007, Metzler implemented the Millennium Project, a $35 million, 100-year-long expansion plan which transferred of woodland from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

-controlled Arlington House and from adjacent

to the cemetery.Sherman, "More Space for Fallen Heroes", ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', November 4, 2007. Another of cemetery property currently occupied by maintenance buildings would also be converted to burial space. The expansion would add 14,000 burial and 22,000 inurnment spaces. The Millennium Project expanded Arlington's physical boundaries for the first time since the 1960s, and this was the largest expansion of burial space at the site since

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Metzler also implemented plans move several utility lines to gain even more space. Metzler's plans were criticized and opposed by several environmental and historical preservation groups.

Burial waiver dispute

In 1997 and 1998, Metzler also handled several scandals involving waivers which would permit ineligible individuals to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Concerned that the cemetery would not have enough space given the large numbers of military personnel who served in World War II, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and the

, Congress passed legislation in 1967 restricting who may be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.Barr, "Hallowed Grounds for Controversy", ''Washington Post'', December 23, 1997. Waivers of these restrictions were permitted, but only minimal rules or guidelines were established for granting them. The burial waiver controversy broke in November 1997 when the news media reported that

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

William S. Cohen had allegedly put pressure on the Army and Metzler to allow Republican congressional staffer Robert Charles to bury his father, Roland W. Charles, at Arlington even though he was ineligible for burial there. A month later, a dispute arose over the burial of M. Larry Lawrence, a Democratic fund-raiser and a former U.S.

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to Switzerland. There were concerns that Lawrence had falsified his service in the

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

(a branch of the U.S. military during World War II), and that his role as a U.S. diplomatic envoy did not make him eligible for burial in the cemetery. At the height of the controversy (some Republicans claimed that Lawrence had been granted a burial waiver because of his role as a fund-raiser), Metzler said that he would have granted the waiver anyway.Barr, "Envoy Post Enough for Burial Waiver, Arlington Chief Says", ''Washington Post'', December 8, 1997; "Waiver May Have Been Given Anyway in Burial", ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', December 8, 1997; "New Angle on Arlington Waiver", ''Saint Paul Pioneer Press'', December 8, 1997; "Arlington Chief Would Have OKd Envoy's Burial", ''Chicago Sun-Times'', December 8, 1997. Lawrence had died while still serving as ambassador, and that would have qualified him for Arlington burial, Metzler said. A few days after the scandal broke, Lawrence's widow moved her husband's body from Arlington National Cemetery, making the issue moot. The controversy led to an investigation of Metzler's handling of burial waivers. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the

United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs The standing committee, standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new Act of Congress, bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veteran ...

, assisted by staff from the Government Accounting Office, began an investigation in December 1997.Scarborough, "Arlington Burial Answers Prove Hard to Come By", ''Washington Times'', January 3, 1998. Nine cases were identified where Metzler had denied burial, but had been reversed. In January 1998, as the House investigation continued, the burial of an ineligible National Guardsman at Arlington raised further questions about the cemetery's waiver procedures. The House subcommittee found that record-keeping at Arlington National Cemetery was so poor that not enough hard evidence of wrongdoing could be uncovered. The burial waiver dispute became an issue again in 2001. Charles Burlingame, a 25-year retired Navy veteran, was captain of

American Airlines Flight 77 American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. The Boeing 757-200 aircraft serving the flig ...

when it hijacked on September 11, 2001, and crashed into the Pentagon as part of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Burlingame was initially ruled ineligible to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery because, as a reservist, he had not reached the age of 60 at the time of his death. The decision caused an uproar. Veterans offered to give up their burial sites to allow him to be buried at Arlington, legislation was introduced in Congress to force the cemetery to bury him, and Senator John W. Warner and others pushed Metzler to consider new evidence that indicated Burlingame was fighting the hijackers at the time of his death.White, "Honoring a 'True American Patriot'", ''Washington Post'', December 13, 2001. Metzler subsequently granted the waiver, and Burlingame was buried at Arlington on December 12, 2001. Metzler strongly criticized the proposed legislation, arguing that it would permit more than 188,000 reservists and their relatives to be buried at Arlington.

Tomb of the Unknowns repair controversy

Metzler also oversaw a controversy regarding the

monument at Arlington National Cemetery. The 1931

Yule marble Yule Marble is a marble of metamorphosed Leadville Limestone found only in the Yule Creek Valley, in the West Elk Mountains of Colorado, southeast of the town of Marble, Colorado.Marble Quadrangle, Colorado; USGS 7.5-minute series topogr ...

structure began to incur minor damage as early as the 1930s and two major cracks running around the entire circumference of the monument appeared in 1963 (although the cracks undoubtedly occurred inside the marble much earlier than this but were not visible).Ruane, "The Fate of the Unknowns", ''Washington Post'', October 14, 2007. The Tomb underwent repairs in 1933, 1975, and 1989 (the latter two under Metzler's tenure as Superintendent). Metzler ordered a detailed inspection of the monument by the firm of Oehrlein and Associates in 1989, which produced a report in 1990.''Report on Alternative Measures to Address Cracks in the Monument at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia'', August 2008, p. 3-4. Metzler consulted with a wide number of federal, state, and private-sector preservation agencies and groups as well as U.S. government agencies with jurisdiction over Arlington National Cemetery, U.S. monuments, and veterans' burials. In 2003, Metzler approved a preliminary decision to have the Tomb replaced, citing a fear that some of the sculptural detail on the tomb might fall off in public and the knowledge that repair was not a long-term solution."Cracks May Force Replacement of Tomb", Associated Press, August 2, 2006.Gehlert, "Is Beauty a Finer Honor, or Truth?", ''Los Angeles Times'', August 21, 2006. He hoped to donate the old pieces to a museum. Public uproar over the decision as well as congressional opposition led to the suspension of this plan.Abruzzese, "For a Memorial With Cracks, Fix or Replace?", ''New York Times'', November 12, 2007.Gowen, "Making a Spare Copy of Tomb of Unknowns", ''Washington Post'', November 16, 2003. Metzler refused comment on these controversies, but did say that the cemetery wanted the public and preservation groups to provide input and that competitive bidding rules would be followed in any replacement process. In 2008, Congress passed legislation requiring the Army to formally study the issue. The study, released in August 2008, identified four alternatives (do nothing; repair the tomb until it cannot be repaired any further; repair the tomb but begin planning for replacement; replace the tomb). In June 2009, Metzler announced that the third option would be implemented, and that Arlington National Cemetery had accepted the donation of a block of marble from the original quarry which cut the stone for the tomb in 1931.

Photographs of burials

Metzler faced a controversy over photographs of the burials of American war dead in 2009. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense instituted a ban on photography of the arrival of dead American servicemen at

Dover Air Force Base Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force (USAF) base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. The 436th Airlift Wing is the host wing, and runs the bu ...

and their burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The decision caused a public controversy. Metzler defended Arlington National Cemetery's policy of leaving it up to the next of kin to permit photography (as long as photographers were kept at a distance so as not to intrude on the burial). The policy "has worked well", Metzler said. "Obviously it is traumatic, but how the military does it, with the precision and respect, is a very positive thing. I think the public also looks at it as positive."Scott and Berman, "Pentagon Rethinks Photo Ban on Coffins Bearing War Dead", ''Washington Post'', February 17, 2009.

Final years and retirement

As Superintendent, Metzler established Arlington National Cemetery's first Web site on April 17, 2000. Metzler oversaw a rapid rise in the number of burials and expansion in the cemetery's

columbaria A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding Cremation, cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''wikt:columba, columba'' (do ...

in his final years as Superintendent. The advanced age of many servicemembers in the World War II veteran cohort and deaths due to the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

doubled to 30 the number of funerals held per day by 2007. Metzler ordered the three additional shifts of funeral services in order to accommodate the increase. The rapid increase in the number of daily funerals led to a shortage of caissons, horses, military honors teams, and other personnel and equipment, leading several U.S. Senators to question Metzler's budgetary leadership. Extensive building of columbaria also occurred. The first columbarium at Arlington was built in 1980,Stiles, "Ashes to Ashes: Rising Number Choosing Cremation Over Burial", ''Dallas Morning News'', August 9, 2004. and a second completed in 1991 just after Metzler assumed the position of Superintendent. Inurnments at Arlington rose from 427 in 1980 to 2,342 in 2003, and cremations accounted for half of the 6,000 funerals the cemetery conducted each year. Five more columbarium structures were erected under Metzler's leadership between 1992 and 2004. The ninth columbarium (and the seventh to be erected under Metzler's regime) opened in December 2008. By May 25, 2009, Metzler had supervised more than 30,000 funerals in 18 years. He also presided over the funerals of many important Americans. He oversaw the burial of

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

in 1994 and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

in 2009. On May 19, 2010, Metzler announced his retirement as Superintendent effective July 2, 2010. Due to a controversy over mismanagement at Arlington National Cemetery, he was issued a letter of reprimand on June 10, 2010.

Other accomplishments, duties and special appearances

Metzler also served on the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

U.S. Army Qualifications Review Board in 2001 and 2002. Metzler appeared as himself in 1999 in the episode " In Excelsis Deo" of the

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

''."The White House Phone Number", ''The West Wing'' UNofficial Continuity Guide, no date.

References

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Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

.'' December 8, 1997 * "Arlington National Cemetery Expands to Site on Web." Press Release. Department of the Army. United States Department of Defense. April 28, 2000. * "Arlington's Burial Regulations Anger Family of Hijacked Pilot." ''New York Times.'' December 5, 2001. * Baird, Bob. "Senators Seek Answers." '' Westchester Journal News.'' August 13, 2009.
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Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

.'' June 10, 2010. * Barr, Stephen. "Envoy Post Enough for Burial Waiver, Arlington Chief Says." ''Washington Post.'' December 8, 1997. * Barr, Stephen. "Hallowed Grounds for Controversy." ''Washington Post.'' December 23, 1997. * Cohn, D'Vera. "Rooting Out Tree Trouble in Arlington." ''Washington Post.'' October 17, 1993.
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Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

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''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

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''

Army Times ''Army Times'' (ISSN 0004–2595) is a newspaper published 26 times a year serving active, reserve, national guard and retired United States Army personnel and their families, providing news, information and analysis as well as community and ...

.'' June 26, 2009. * * * "New Angle on Arlington Waiver." '' Saint Paul Pioneer Press.'' December 8, 1997.
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*
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Albany Times Union The ''Times Union'', or ''Times-Union'', is an American daily newspaper, serving the Capital Region of New York. Although the newspaper focuses on Albany and its suburbs, it covers all parts of the four-county area, including the cities of Tr ...

.'' December 24, 2006.
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''

.'' October 31, 2009.
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Accessed 2010-06-11.

''

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.'' May 20, 2010. * Ruane, Michael E. "Bid to Replace Tomb Monument Stalls." ''Washington Post.'' January 30, 2008. * Ruane, Michael E. "For Warriors Past and Future." ''Washington Post.'' October 7, 2007. * Ruane, Michael E. "The Fate of the Unknowns." ''Washington Post.'' October 14, 2007. * Scarborough, Rowan. "Arlington Burial Answers Prove Hard to Come By." ''Washington Times.'' January 3, 1998. * Scarborough, Rowan. "Army Error Put Guardsman Into Arlington Cemetery." ''Washington Times.'' January 6, 1998. * Scarborough, Rowan. "Panel to Probe Cemetery Admissions Procedure." ''Washington Times.'' December 10, 1997. * Scott, Ann and Berman, Mark. "Pentagon Rethinks Photo Ban on Coffins Bearing War Dead." ''Washington Post.'' February 17, 2009. * Sherman, Jerome L. "More Space for Fallen Heroes." ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

.'' November 4, 2007. * Stiles, Matt. "Ashes to Ashes: Rising Number Choosing Cremation Over Burial." ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

.'' August 9, 2004. * Van Natta, Don Jr. "New Questions About Envoy Who Is Buried at Arlington." ''New York Times.'' December 6, 1997. * Vogel, Steve. "Arlington Cemetery Gains Land to Expand." ''Washington Post.'' October 8, 1999. * "Waiver May Have Been Given Anyway in Burial." ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

.'' December 8, 1997. * Wee, Eric L. "Decay at Arlington Cemetery Dismays Lawmakers." ''Washington Post.'' May 21, 1999. * Wee, Eric L. "Good News for Tree Lovers, Not for Arlington Cemetery." ''Washington Post.'' March 6, 1998. * White, Josh. "Honoring a 'True American Patriot'." ''Washington Post.'' December 13, 2001.

External links

Text of the official reprimand of John Metzler Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzler, John C. Jr. 1947 births Living people United States Army soldiers Military personnel from New York City United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Arlington National Cemetery