Group arranges military burial for forgotten veterans
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A military honor guard prepares to present four flags Friday representing four veterans whose remains are about to be interred at the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Randolph Center. The Missing in America Project located the remains in storage at a funeral home in White River Junction. Stefan Hard / Times Argus |
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By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: November 8, 2008
RANDOLPH — For more than three decades, Samuel Mazur's ashes had been gathering dust in the storage room of a White River Junction funeral home.
The resting place hardly befit the man. Mazur, a veteran of two wars, earned both the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in World War II.
When he died in 1974, without family or friends, his burned remains were deposited in a nondescript urn and placed on a shelf.
"When I first heard that something like this could happen, it just blew my mind," said Jeff Smith, a veteran of the United States Navy who lives in Bennington. "Here's a hero, a man who fought to keep this country free, and this is how he's treated?"
On Friday morning, 34 years after his death, Mazur finally had the military burial his country had promised. The service — attended by close to 75 people who had never met the man — is the result of a massive effort by an organization dedicated to finding forgotten heroes.
"It's about giving these men and women, these American heroes, a proper interment," said Bruce Turner, head of the Vermont Chapter of the Missing in America Project.
Mazur was interred Friday, along with three other Vermont veterans whose remains had suffered a similarly lonely fate. Turner discovered all four at the Knight Funeral Home, where third-generation owner Jeff Knight was glad to finally have someone claim the "abandoned property," as such remains are legally classified in Vermont.
At the service Friday, members of the Legion Riders and Patriot Guard Riders — veteran advocacy groups for men with motorcycles — arrived at the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery with large American flags waving behind their growling Harley Davidsons.
"Our motto is 'We stand for those who stand for us,'" said Dan Nolin, who drove from his home in Hudson Falls, N.Y.
The burly crew — all were dressed head to toe in worn denim and leather — came from four states to say goodbye to veterans they had never met. The groups are affiliated with the Missing in America Project, and are alerted to funerals via an online community.
Others showed up as well: old veterans and their wives, the parents of Vermont men killed in Iraq and a roster of Vermont dignitaries.
They paid respects to Air Force Master Sgt. Mazur; Army Pvt. Ralph G. Hemphill; Navy veteran Julius Morse, and 2nd Lt. Doris A. Ferriter.
The four Vermont veterans served collectively in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. All died alone, and each of their remains was left unclaimed at Knight's.
"We all need to pay respect to veterans, but especially these ones without any family," Nolin said. "We are their family."
Since its inception in late 2006, the Missing in America Project has found the ashes of more than 6,000 veterans nationwide. About 500 have been identified, and, after Friday's ceremony, 325 have been interred.
"We don't know how many of these men and women are out there, but we plan to find every one of them," Turner, a New Hampshire resident, said.
The Knight Funeral Home is the first Vermont funeral home Turner called. He plans to contact the 80 or so additional funeral homes in Vermont over the winter.
"The Missing in America Project really got a full head of steam last year because when people found out this was happening at funeral homes across the nation, they were just appalled," said Clayton Clark, head of the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs. "I think it's wonderful that they've reached into Vermont, so that we can find some of the forgotten veterans here."
Clark said the lost veterans often die alone in nursing homes. Efforts to contact family members of the veterans buried Friday proved unsuccessful, as Turner said is often the case.
"It seems incredible, but their cremains are just left at the funeral home," he said. "No one comes to pick them up. There's no one to bury them, and they end up sitting there."
The crowd that gathered on the expansive cemetery green did not know the veterans, but they hardly acted like strangers. A number of people took turns at the dais to offer reflections on the day.
Juanita A. Paynter, an Army veteran, paid respects to a fellow female soldier.
"Being a female veteran myself, I'm proud to place my fellow sister and fellow brothers with their comrades, and making sure they get the proper respect they deserve," Paynter said.
One man, a Korean War veteran, fell apart at the podium as he thanked Mazur for his service in the "Forgotten War."
Turner said he will spend the winter contacting more Vermont funeral homes. Clark said uncovered veterans would be interred at a Memorial Day ceremony next spring.
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