BARTOW, Fla. (AP) - A family is upset after someone dug up their veteran relative, pried open his casket and removed his clothes.
The Lakeland Ledger says the grave of Willie R. Graham was found open on May 10 by a groundskeeper at Palm Cemetery. Graham died in 1999 at 75 years old. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
A Bartow Police report says the cement slab had been moved, the casket was partially open and rotting clothes had been tossed beside the grave. The responding officer noted they were unable to find Graham's relatives, but one of the buried man's nieces later visited the site and told family. Graham's sister Hester Brown says the vandalism is "terribly upsetting."
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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), http://www.theledger.com
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