Video of the Ground Penetrating Radar at Oakwood Confederate Section:
Monday, February 2, 2015
Our Letter that Started Our Group
Several members of different SCV Camps concerned about problems at Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, Va, came together to try and reverse the things happening in the Confederate Section by reaching out and getting personally involved with Virginia Division's Oakwood Restoration Committee(ORC) and the Division Executive Council(DEC) by going to any meetings these groups would allow. Unfortunate for us, the only meeting we were allowed to observe was the DEC's Quarterly meetings, but we could only speak or ask questions they allowed.
So we were not allowed to attend the secret meetings of the ORC, or ask any "deemed inappropriate" questions at the DEC quarterly meeting. The corruption is so apparent even at these controlled DEC quarterly meetings.
Example; Division Commander, "Please, give us the report for the ORC." Chairman, "Things are going according to our plans, blah, blah, blah, etc." Never any specifics were given. When one of us would ask to ask a question, like; "What is the current donations collected?" or "When are the upright markers coming in?"or "Why isn't the Third National Flag being flown?" So many questions we would try to ask just to get a hint of what they were doing with our monies; but always the same: either vague answers(that usually contradicted their last quarters report), or shouted down by one of the DEC members as inappropriate.
Time and time again at these DEC quarterly meetings we could never get straight answers, and then the next meeting a different answer than the time before. Their circle of lies kept spinning. Finally, those of us who just wanted honest answers decided to appeal to a higher body. The letter below was sent to the SCV National Officers(GEC) & the Army Commanders and Councilmen. It was meant to get their attention to our problems here. But it failed completely, Silence from them. Our only instructions were "To bring it up with the Virginia DEC!" and "Chain of Command" were the words used by CIC Barrow to me on a voice mail. We had sent the letter also to Division Commander Pullen as well. Nothing from him either. Read for yourself our letter:
So we were not allowed to attend the secret meetings of the ORC, or ask any "deemed inappropriate" questions at the DEC quarterly meeting. The corruption is so apparent even at these controlled DEC quarterly meetings.
Example; Division Commander, "Please, give us the report for the ORC." Chairman, "Things are going according to our plans, blah, blah, blah, etc." Never any specifics were given. When one of us would ask to ask a question, like; "What is the current donations collected?" or "When are the upright markers coming in?"or "Why isn't the Third National Flag being flown?" So many questions we would try to ask just to get a hint of what they were doing with our monies; but always the same: either vague answers(that usually contradicted their last quarters report), or shouted down by one of the DEC members as inappropriate.
Time and time again at these DEC quarterly meetings we could never get straight answers, and then the next meeting a different answer than the time before. Their circle of lies kept spinning. Finally, those of us who just wanted honest answers decided to appeal to a higher body. The letter below was sent to the SCV National Officers(GEC) & the Army Commanders and Councilmen. It was meant to get their attention to our problems here. But it failed completely, Silence from them. Our only instructions were "To bring it up with the Virginia DEC!" and "Chain of Command" were the words used by CIC Barrow to me on a voice mail. We had sent the letter also to Division Commander Pullen as well. Nothing from him either. Read for yourself our letter:
Friends
of Oakwood Cemetery
8/30/14
Findings & Resolution
Whereas
The Virginia Division's 'Oakwood Committee', currently chaired by
Commander
Mike Pullen, has repeatedly dishonored Our Soldiers by Out
of
control spending on boondoggles
and white elephant projects,
Whereas
Oakwood Committee has no idea of how many burials, or names,
or
location plots of Soldiers, or true History of Oakwood Cemetery,
Whereas
Oakwood Committee has no public oversight of monies, or actuate
reporting through Va Division
DEC publications/meetings, taken in or
spent since July 8, 2012,
Whereas
Oakwood Committee is
planning on capital spending project on an
entrance
gate, solely owned by city
of Richmond with
monies from
Sons of Confederate
Veteran's coffers,
Whereas
Oakwood Committee is currently planning on another capital
spending
project in the hundreds of thousands dollars on a totally
unnecessary
fence, part
of which is built on top of Soldier's graves,
Whereas
Oakwood
Committee has constantly lied to Friends of Oakwood
Cemetery about cost of
capital projects, placement of Gazebo, fund
-raising projects,
agreements with City of Richmond and Virginia Dept.
of Historical Research,
Whereas
there are too many
more
misjudgments of Oakwood Committee to
continue to list here in
these findings,
Therefore
The Friends of Oakwood Cemetery demand
an
immediate stop
to
any further capital
spending at Oakwood Cemetery, by this Oakwood
Committee
And
Further
an immediate Third Party audit of money ledgers of Oakwood
Committee,
And
Further
an immediate new committee
convened, made up of Friends of
Oakwood Cemetery and
Oakwood Committee to settle upon a Blueprint
of plans to complete Va
Division's Charge in The Va Division's
Constitution to the
Oakwood Committee, because none currently exist.
And
Further
a non-action, or no immediate response to this grave matter will
force
Friends
of Oakwood to carry this matter outside the Sons of
Confederate Veterans
Leadership to the entire organization through the
Camps. We would prefer to
settle this in house between the recipients of
this letter and video.
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