15 Unclaimed Veterans Receive Full Military Honors in Pennsylvania

The previously unclaimed remains of 15 U.S. military veterans will be escorted across Pennsylvania on Friday before receiving a funeral with full military honors at the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.

The group includes seven Army Veterans, three Air Force veterans, four Marines, and one Navy veteran, according to a recent announcement from Delaware County.

The remains of the heroes were being held at the Medical Examiner’s office in Delaware County before the Missing in America Project helped arrange the proper transfer and burial of the veterans.

The dignified transfer was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday at the medical examiner’s office in Media, Pennsylvania. A procession accompanied the veterans on their 90-mile journey to the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Annville, where a full military funeral took place.

The county did not release the veterans’ names, dates of death, or other personal information about the veterans. No other information about living relatives or pertinent information was released either.

Finding Veterans Among the Unclaimed

The Missing in America Project is a national nonprofit organization that searches for the remains of veterans and eligible dependents. The organization volunteers its time to funeral homes, hospitals, coroners, medical examiners, and other government agencies and helps them determine the relevant information regarding unclaimed or unidentified remains of those lost in the service.

If the remains of those who died while in service to the country are found, the volunteers from the organization work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to verify military service and other necessary details in order to properly bury and honor the fallen.

The organization is dedicated to honoring the fallen with the proper burials and ceremonies in respect to the recognition that they deserve, according to the Delaware County Announcement.

The process can be quite tedious, as there can be huge numbers of records and paperwork that is combed through in order to find the relevant information to determine if the deceased were military or not. In a case that took place in Texas, the remains of 92 people were unknown, and the organization found that seven were veterans. The identification process took approximately eight months.

Unclaimed remains do not mean that a veteran had no living relatives. Sometimes, it was just too difficult to track down family members from the information or evidence available.

VA Steps in to Help Honor Veterans

The VA works with veteran organizations, those in the funeral industry, private citizens, and others willing to help in order to ensure those that are unclaimed receive dignified burials. A veteran does not need to have such things as a VA pension or disability compensation for burial benefits. Eligibility is determined primarily based on the military service and discharge status of a veteran, among other things.

Burials can take place at a variety of locales, such as a VA national cemetery or in tribunal and qualifying state cemeteries. The VA can cover the headstone or marker, including a burial flag, or other things needed for the ceremony.

National and VA cemeteries often step in when remains are considered unclaimed, or when relatives of the deceased can’t make it to the funeral ceremony. Members of the organization and surrounding communities can often step in for the fallen, so the service member is not buried alone, according to the VA.

Final Resting Place for The Service Members

Indiantown Gap National Cemetery is located northeast of Harrisburg and accommodates both casketed and cremated remains. Friday’s ceremony concluded a process that began with the discovery of the veterans among the remains held by the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office. While personal or military details about the veterans had not been released, each received the recognition that they deserved.

The Missing in America Project’s work is intended to ensure that fallen veterans’ remains that were unclaimed are treated with the respect and recognition that they deserve, finding a permanent resting place that is suitable for all who once took the oath.