To all who read my open letter today,I appreciate the kind replies I have recieved and,thanks to one very kind lady, Marian Mitchell Jones,who lost her brother in the Korean War, and lost her husband when he was shot down in Laos, I now know how to send for a replacement marker from the War Department,for my father's grave. I would like to answer the questions I recieved, also. I sent this letter to the founder of eBay,an online site designed to help people get the best price on various collectibles,antiques, sports equipment,and the like that they would like to sell. Well,yesterday, they sold a grave marker that was intended to go on the grave of a Korean US War Veteran. It cut me to the quick,because of the loss of my father's marker. This was NOT the ONLY grave marker on the Auction Block. As a matter of fact,there were various Veteran's Markers, and some headstones that "SHOWED SIGNS OF BEING USED". I recieved an e-mail from a dear friend of mine this morning telling me of this outrage. When I read the part about the Korean US War Veteran marker, I lost ALL objectivity. I went to the eBay wesite and looked for this marker,hoping that it might be my father's and hoping I would have the resolve to refuse to buy it if it was.It would be unconcionable to do anything to encourage this. I will never know,I suppose,for it was bid on once and bidding closed yesterday. So,what you read was a copy of the email I sent to PIERRE OMIDYAR,THE FOUNDER OF eBay. Below is the "reply" I recieved, followed by a copy of the letter I sent this morning. It seems that everyone except Mr. Omidyar read the letter! Thanks for your patience and tolerance, Teresa Sue Jarrell Beech Thank you for writing to founder@ebay.com. This mailbox is for letters to the founder, all of which I will read. Unfortunately, I can't respond to every letter. Some letters and my responses will be selected for pub- lication, but if you need a direct response to your letter, please e-mail it support@ebay.com. Again, thank you for taking the time to write! Regards, Pierre Sir, > My name is Teresa Sue Jarrell Beech. My father > was William P. Jarrell. > I say was because he died in Oct. of 1987.My mother > sent his body to be > cremated before she called my sister or me to tell > us he was dead. We > knew that was his wish, so we said nothing. We did > not think about the > Veteran's plaque until sometime after the memorial > service. When we > inquired about it we were told that our brother > wanted the plaque and the > flag that is sent to the widow.We did not argue. > Again we said nothing, > as we respected her wishes. What happened next to > the marker and > flag ? Well I do not know. You see, my little > brother was an alcoholic.He > died driving drunk in Nov. of 1994 at the age of 33. > My sister and I were > shaken to the core. We lost our mother in 1990 so > suddenly everyone > was gone except me and my sister. After my brother's > funeral, his > young widow gave me my father's ashes.My brother had > gotten his > ashes when mother died,and had kept them in an > urn.We asked about > the flag and the veteran's plaque and she did not > know what had happened > to them. So now you know the sordid story of a > tragedy that cannot be > undone. > There is something you could do,tho. You could > make it policy that if > someone wants to sell a USED Grave Marker, they have > to give the > name,dates,etc, from that marker and they can sell > it for no more than it > costs them. If they refuse, you should feel > obligated to report them to > the police if they refuse to do so. I don't know,and > may never know, > where my father's marker went. I do know that one > Korean Veteran > grave marker was sold at auction yesterday on > ebay.And I know that > someone out there is wondering what happened to that > marker. > With all due respect,sir, it is sacrilege to > steal a marker from a > cemetery,and I can not think why anyone except a > loved one of > the deceased would want a grave marker. And they > would only want > it to put it where it belongs.After my mother > died,even though she > was cremated as per her wishes, I had a double > headstone placed > in our family cemetery with my parents names > ,wedding date,and > birth and death dates . Don't you think that my > father's marker > should be there,also? > SINCERELY, > Teresa Sue Jarrell Beech