Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins requesting support for legislation allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to review and initiate disinterment proceedings for Dr. Robert McCormick Browne who is interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, commonly known as “Punchbowl Cemetery.”
The request to exhume and disinter Dr. Browne from Punchbowl Cemetery came from one of Rep. Tokuda’s constituents, who identifies as a survivor of sexual abuse by Dr. Browne and has family members buried at the VA national cemetery in Honolulu. Dr. Browne, who worked as a psychiatrist for Kamehameha Schools, faced dozens of allegations from former students before his death in 1991.
“The presence of an alleged serial abuser in a place reserved for those who served with distinction is deeply painful and unacceptable to survivors and the families of those buried alongside him,” the letter stated.
“Although Dr. Browne was never convicted due to his suicide prior to trial, credible and documented findings of his extensive sexual abuse of minors warrant a full review by the VA as authorized under 38 USC § 2411(c). Unfortunately, current law only provides these authorities to VA for decedents interred from December 2013 onward, leaving his victims with little recourse.”
“On behalf of survivors and families who have expressed deep distress over Dr. Browne’s continued memorialization at Punchbowl Cemetery, we respectfully request your support for legislation that would allow VA to review Dr. Browne’s case and, in accordance with any findings and the law, remove him from this place of national reverence. Doing so would maintain the integrity of our cemeteries and affirm VA’s commitment to honoring the memory of those interred with the respect they deserve.”
In 2013, Congress enacted the Alicia Dawn Koehl Respect for National Cemeteries Act (P.L. 113-65), which establishes grounds for disinterment of individuals who have committed certain serious crimes, including provisions for those who died or fled before they could be prosecuted or convicted. In 2019, the VA barred convicted Tier III sex offenders from burial or memorialization in national cemeteries, a policy Congress codified in the 2022 National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act (P.L. 117-355).
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Representative Ed Case (HI-01) also signed the letter, which can be read here.
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