Graveyard Hero Thwarted

For three years, Gene-o Platt worked, often laying on his stomach in the sweltering sun, to clean and seal deteriorating tombstones of Civil War veterans in Santa Ana. It kept him busy doing something good after he became a widower.

And for three years, Cemetery District GM Sam Randall watched Platt at work -- until one day, it dawned on him that Platt didn't have the proper permissions all in order. So, after Platt had cleaned, painted and sealed all but 16 of the cemetery's 204 Civil War vet tomb stones, Randall ordered him to stop.

Last week, cemetery workers began stripping the now-beautiful tombstones, obliterating three year's of Platt's dedicated and humble effort.

It's a heartbreaking and infuriating story of devotion battling blind bureacracy. Read the whole thing in the the OCRegister. It's worth it.