A family is upset that its loved ones had to be moved from a mausoleum Hampton-Veterans Memorial Gardens to a new one and that no one at the cemetery said when the move would take place.
Len Dameron’s parents, Whitmore and Betty Dameron, have rested at the memorial for decades. Thursday, a large partition was around the tombs of the World War II veteran and his wife while crews moved in and out of the mausoleum. Dameron said the bodies of 300 people are getting transferred to a new mausoleum because of structural issues. He told 13News Now the cemetery’s management sent him a letter in April explaining the problem and that the bodies would be moved. Dameron said management never told him when the move would take place.
“Even after all this time, you still want to remember those who have passed on. People are going to be surprised when they find out they’re doing it right now,” said Dameron. “I need to know where my parents are going. You can’t just yank people out of their graves,” said Dameron.
Dameron said he thinks the city’s plan to extend Coliseum Drive from Hampton Roads Center Parkway to Butler Farm Road may have had something to do with the memorial gardens’ decision. The proposed extension would put four lanes of roadway between the cemetery and a neighborhood. People with the cemetery said the project is not connected to the move.
“Certainly, it’s a good thing that they’re getting removed and taken to a more secure structure,” stated Dameron, adding that he wished management explained when and how the transition would take place.
“They had to go to the courts to determine when they were going to be able to do this,” explained Dameron.
Management confirmed it asked for the court order to allow the move based on the structural damage and issues with the roof.
Dameron wasn’t sure when the removal would be completed, and when we asked the management of the memorial gardens, it had no comment.
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