Law helps find resting place for veterans’ unclaimed remains

Published: Friday, July 30, 2010

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By Linda May, Macomb Daily columnist

A new Michigan law gives funeral homes the right to turn over unclaimed cremated remains of veterans to congressionally chartered veterans service organizations for burial.

Funeral businesses now have immunity for the disposition of such remains thanks to the measure that took effect two months ago. It was sponsored by U.S. Army veteran and state Rep. Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn.

A funeral business holding ashes sends a letter to the presumed veteran’s last known next-of-kin, or places a newspaper ad if there are no known relatives. When the veteran’s status is confirmed by the National Cemetery Administration Central Scheduling Office, the remains are released for burial at a Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery such as the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, if no family members have come forward to request otherwise.

“Not every funeral home has unclaimed remains of veterans,” said Mike Kolb from Vick Funeral Home in Mount Clemens. “We only started holding ashes the past two years. Prior to that, 95 percent of families picked them up, then transferred them to a veterans cemetery.”

For a variety of reasons, some families “just walk away,” he said. He also said he is confident none of the remains his business stores are those of veterans.

“When we first meet with the families we try to determine then whether the person was a veteran. Sometimes we determine that through the national scheduling office and we send the family a letter to let them know the person is eligible for free burial in a veterans cemetery. Then, ashes get to their final resting place,” Kolb said. “This is a very new law. I think these veterans groups are trying to get organized and recruit their volunteers. It’s a time-consuming process.”

Missing in America

Not every state facilitates this process as Michigan has begun to do, so the Missing in America Project’s mission is to locate, identify and inter — with honor — every veteran whose remains are currently stored on mortuary shelves in urns, cans or boxes. So-called cremains may never have been claimed because the veteran was homeless or indigent, or without known family ties.

There are about 45,000 funeral homes in the country, so the task is great. MIAP has located, identified and interred 792 veterans with honors because organizers feel “it’s the right thing to do.”

They have found 6,642 remains of people confirmed to be veterans in nearly 900 funeral homes, and in some institutions like state hospitals. About 3,500 of those remains came from one institution. Continued…

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The organization’s website is www.miap.us. The tax-exempt nonprofit group works within the boundaries of each state’s laws, but asks for donations to maintain liability insurance.

MIAP wants to see a nationwide and standardized effort to locate the forgotten veterans, with the cooperation of citizens, volunteer service and veterans organizations, funeral homes, state funeral commissions and agencies, and the state and national cemetery administrations.

In 2007, the national executive committee of The American Legion declared its official support for the Missing in America Project.

Special ceremony

When these unclaimed remains are interred, veterans groups send their honor guards, make flag-lines and render rifle volleys.

Members of the Patriot Guard Riders participated in honoring a group of deceased vets by providing a motorcycle escort on Memorial Day that went from Dearborn to Holly.

The Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council found 26 veterans’ remains at Dearborn’s four funeral homes. They were from World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam. A WWI veteran’s ashes had been held by one funeral home since 1938.

The Arlington National Cemetery-type ceremony involved a horse-drawn caisson and flag-draped coffin, honor guard and military chaplains. Veterans saluted, and parade-watchers stood in silence with hands over their hearts. Names of the deceased were read in a ceremony and then a hearse transported the casket containing the ashes to Great Lakes National Cemetery for internment in a columbarium, with a rifle salute and flag-folding ceremony.

“That effort by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council was the first, and so far the only, effort of that type that I know of,” said Richard Anderson, director of the Great Lakes National Cemetery. “We are very amenable to doing these burials in the future, but it was a lot of work for that group.”

“We had a lot of fundraisers to be able to do that presentation in the parade,” said Joe Terry of the Dearborn Council. “The caisson alone was $8,000 and we had to rent horses. We almost begged people to participate. Now they are coming to us saying they would be happy to do it again, or want to get on board for next year because of the impact it had on everyone. It was a costly scenario, but we made it work.” Continued…

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Paying respects

Terry Shipps of the Veterans of Modern Warfare Southeast Michigan Chapter 4 attended the Dearborn ceremony.

“I thought it was very respectful,” Shipps said. “It is nice to see that they were able to give them a proper burial with proper respects.” Ships served in Iraq 2003-2004

“How did it get this far?” Angelo Lema, of St. Clair Shores, asked about the thousands of abandoned remains. “That there are so many is a shame. It would be great if we can start chipping away at this. People fall through the cracks for whatever reason. Maybe they had no family left and there was just nobody there to care. At least somebody can give a last salute of some sort.”

“It’s a shame that our country hasn’t given these men the honor they deserve until now,” Al Opra, of Harrison Township, said. “Was this just an oversight or was it about money? Either way, at least this horrendous snafu is being addressed after all of these years. These brave men will finally be laid to rest with their fellow servicemen in a place of honor. Welcome home, and thank you for your service. Rest in peace.”

Lema and Opra served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and during the 1983 Beirut truck bombing, respectively.

Burial benefits

Veterans who have received a discharge other than dishonorable may be eligible for certain burial benefits through the federal or county government.

They can learn about the eligibility requirements at the Macomb County Veterans Services office at 21885 Dunham, Suite 3, Clinton Township. The office number is (586) 469-5315 (586) 469-5315. Documentation required may include separation papers (DD Form 214), death certificate, marriage certificate, and itemized funeral bill.

Besides the free burials in VA cemeteries, there are upright marble headstones, flat granite and flat marble or bronze grave markers, and smaller niche (bronze) markers. Medallions with branch of service are available to affix to privately purchased headstones. Veterans may have Presidential Memorial Certificates signed by the current president, flags and flag cases. A county burial allowance and a federal burial allowance may be used to offset some of the costs of a funeral. Continued…

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Veterans Services has satellite locations — for business other than burial benefits — in Warren, Washington Township, Fraser, Romeo and two in Roseville. One is on Thursdays at the Veterans Support Center of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154, at 16945 12 Mile Road. On the second Monday of the month, Old Settlers Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4659, at 8311 Wilson Drive in Shelby Township, hosts a county service officer.

The Department of Michigan VFW recently awarded Carol Turner, a veterans counselor with the county veterans office, the Norman R. Bielak County Counselor of the Year award.

“It is certainly our pleasure to work with Carol. Her willingness to go the extra mile is only matched by her compassion for those we serve,” said Daniel J. Crocker, the VFW’s state director of veterans service.

Send service club and veterans news to: Linda May, c/o The Macomb Daily, 100 Macomb Daily Drive, Mount Clemens, MI 48046; or lindamay@ameritech.net. Phone/fax (586) 791-8116 (586) 791-8116.

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By Linda May, Macomb Daily columnist

A new Michigan law gives funeral homes the right to turn over unclaimed cremated remains of veterans to congressionally chartered veterans service organizations for burial.

Funeral businesses now have immunity for the disposition of such remains thanks to the measure that took effect two months ago. It was sponsored by U.S. Army veteran and state Rep. Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn.

A funeral business holding ashes sends a letter to the presumed veteran’s last known next-of-kin, or places a newspaper ad if there are no known relatives. When the veteran’s status is confirmed by the National Cemetery Administration Central Scheduling Office, the remains are released for burial at a Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery such as the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, if no family members have come forward to request otherwise.

“Not every funeral home has unclaimed remains of veterans,” said Mike Kolb from Vick Funeral Home in Mount Clemens. “We only started holding ashes the past two years. Prior to that, 95 percent of families picked them up, then transferred them to a veterans cemetery.”

For a variety of reasons, some families “just walk away,” he said. He also said he is confident none of the remains his business stores are those of veterans.

“When we first meet with the families we try to determine then whether the person was a veteran. Sometimes we determine that through the national scheduling office and we send the family a letter to let them know the person is eligible for free burial in a veterans cemetery. Then, ashes get to their final resting place,” Kolb said. “This is a very new law. I think these veterans groups are trying to get organized and recruit their volunteers. It’s a time-consuming process.”

Missing in America

Not every state facilitates this process as Michigan has begun to do, so the Missing in America Project’s mission is to locate, identify and inter — with honor — every veteran whose remains are currently stored on mortuary shelves in urns, cans or boxes. So-called cremains may never have been claimed because the veteran was homeless or indigent, or without known family ties.

There are about 45,000 funeral homes in the country, so the task is great. MIAP has located, identified and interred 792 veterans with honors because organizers feel “it’s the right thing to do.”

They have found 6,642 remains of people confirmed to be veterans in nearly 900 funeral homes, and in some institutions like state hospitals. About 3,500 of those remains came from one institution.

The organization’s website is www.miap.us. The tax-exempt nonprofit group works within the boundaries of each state’s laws, but asks for donations to maintain liability insurance.

MIAP wants to see a nationwide and standardized effort to locate the forgotten veterans, with the cooperation of citizens, volunteer service and veterans organizations, funeral homes, state funeral commissions and agencies, and the state and national cemetery administrations.

In 2007, the national executive committee of The American Legion declared its official support for the Missing in America Project.

Special ceremony

When these unclaimed remains are interred, veterans groups send their honor guards, make flag-lines and render rifle volleys.

Members of the Patriot Guard Riders participated in honoring a group of deceased vets by providing a motorcycle escort on Memorial Day that went from Dearborn to Holly.

The Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council found 26 veterans’ remains at Dearborn’s four funeral homes. They were from World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam. A WWI veteran’s ashes had been held by one funeral home since 1938.

The Arlington National Cemetery-type ceremony involved a horse-drawn caisson and flag-draped coffin, honor guard and military chaplains. Veterans saluted, and parade-watchers stood in silence with hands over their hearts. Names of the deceased were read in a ceremony and then a hearse transported the casket containing the ashes to Great Lakes National Cemetery for internment in a columbarium, with a rifle salute and flag-folding ceremony.

“That effort by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council was the first, and so far the only, effort of that type that I know of,” said Richard Anderson, director of the Great Lakes National Cemetery. “We are very amenable to doing these burials in the future, but it was a lot of work for that group.”

“We had a lot of fundraisers to be able to do that presentation in the parade,” said Joe Terry of the Dearborn Council. “The caisson alone was $8,000 and we had to rent horses. We almost begged people to participate. Now they are coming to us saying they would be happy to do it again, or want to get on board for next year because of the impact it had on everyone. It was a costly scenario, but we made it work.”

Paying respects

Terry Shipps of the Veterans of Modern Warfare Southeast Michigan Chapter 4 attended the Dearborn ceremony.

“I thought it was very respectful,” Shipps said. “It is nice to see that they were able to give them a proper burial with proper respects.” Ships served in Iraq 2003-2004

“How did it get this far?” Angelo Lema, of St. Clair Shores, asked about the thousands of abandoned remains. “That there are so many is a shame. It would be great if we can start chipping away at this. People fall through the cracks for whatever reason. Maybe they had no family left and there was just nobody there to care. At least somebody can give a last salute of some sort.”

“It’s a shame that our country hasn’t given these men the honor they deserve until now,” Al Opra, of Harrison Township, said. “Was this just an oversight or was it about money? Either way, at least this horrendous snafu is being addressed after all of these years. These brave men will finally be laid to rest with their fellow servicemen in a place of honor. Welcome home, and thank you for your service. Rest in peace.”

Lema and Opra served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and during the 1983 Beirut truck bombing, respectively.

Burial benefits

Veterans who have received a discharge other than dishonorable may be eligible for certain burial benefits through the federal or county government.

They can learn about the eligibility requirements at the Macomb County Veterans Services office at 21885 Dunham, Suite 3, Clinton Township. The office number is (586) 469-5315 (586) 469-5315. Documentation required may include separation papers (DD Form 214), death certificate, marriage certificate, and itemized funeral bill.

Besides the free burials in VA cemeteries, there are upright marble headstones, flat granite and flat marble or bronze grave markers, and smaller niche (bronze) markers. Medallions with branch of service are available to affix to privately purchased headstones. Veterans may have Presidential Memorial Certificates signed by the current president, flags and flag cases. A county burial allowance and a federal burial allowance may be used to offset some of the costs of a funeral.

Veterans Services has satellite locations — for business other than burial benefits — in Warren, Washington Township, Fraser, Romeo and two in Roseville. One is on Thursdays at the Veterans Support Center of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154, at 16945 12 Mile Road. On the second Monday of the month, Old Settlers Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4659, at 8311 Wilson Drive in Shelby Township, hosts a county service officer.

The Department of Michigan VFW recently awarded Carol Turner, a veterans counselor with the county veterans office, the Norman R. Bielak County Counselor of the Year award.

“It is certainly our pleasure to work with Carol. Her willingness to go the extra mile is only matched by her compassion for those we serve,” said Daniel J. Crocker, the VFW’s state director of veterans service.

Send service club and veterans news to: Linda May, c/o The Macomb Daily, 100 Macomb Daily Drive, Mount Clemens, MI 48046; or lindamay@ameritech.net. Phone/fax (586) 791-8116 (586) 791-8116.

Robert A Smoot