By G. Tomlinson

Source: Flickr.com

Throughout the United States, many unclaimed bodies are buried at the expense of their respective states each year.  In 2009, 12,536 state-paid burials occurred in Michigan alone .  Since more than 100,000 military veterans are homeless in the nation , many of the indigent, or pauper, burials will be for veterans, whose contributions to the nation have been forgotten.  Two people are leading by example to prevent this occurrence: Marsha Dickey, a coroner’s office worker whose acknowledgement of two indigents as veterans helped provide them with dignified burials, and Judge Robert Miller, whose organization, Miller’s Vets, enriches the lives of homeless veterans and provides free veteran funeral services.

Marsha Dickey, an employee of the Kern County coroner’s office in Bakersfield, California, is responsible for determining next-of-kin and personal details for unclaimed bodies. After receiving the bodies of Ronald Axtell and Vincent Barrett, she learned that they had both served in the Air Force: Axtell had been an airman, second class, and Barrett had been a staff sergeant, awarded with a Purple Heart.  Dickey was persistent in drawing attention to these details and Friends of Fallen Heroes, an organization devoted to ensuring veteran burials at Bakersfield National Cemetery, set up a dual funeral for the men.  Word spread through the community and about 125 people attended the funeral, many joining to honor the veterans without knowing them personally.

Honoring veterans and providing a dignified send-off is the mission of “Miller’s Vets” (www.millersvets.com), Judge Robert Miller’s organization in South Bend, Indiana.  Miller served in the U.S. Naval Reserves as a lieutenant commander and wanted Miller’s Vets to augment the lives and deaths of homeless veterans; this is done through its connection with the local Center for the Homeless.

Miller is not alone in his vision.  Three funeral homes in the area have agreed to donate their services, which include removal, preparation and delivery to both the service and the cemetery.  An Amish craftsman makes the caskets, which are sent unassembled for the veterans to put together.  The county helped set up a veterans’ burial site, which is leased for 99 years at $1 per year by the homeless center.  Through this collaboration, Miller has been able to create a funeral service called “The Last Salute”.  Manned by a drill team of local homeless veterans, Miller’s Vets provide free funeral services for indigent veterans, complete with the folding and presentation of the flag, the playing of “Taps,” and burial at the veterans’ site.  With both Miller’s Vets and The Last Salute, Judge Robert Miller provides support for veterans whose service to their country could have been forever forgotten.

Keep in mind that the generosity displayed above is not the norm.  Although he was not a veteran, Ronald Ditman was unclaimed when he died.  Since no one was able to provide the life story or next-of-kin, Ditman’s body remained in the morgue for a month while state workers learned more.  Ultimately, he was buried in a pauper’s grave, instead of the family plot that was waiting for him.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 4:12 am and is filed under Family & Friends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.