Two veterans laid to rest with honor instead of pauper's grave

Unknown vets spared paupers' graves
By Tim Hart, CNN
November 7, 2009 6:07 a.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Two Air Force veterans died in California without any next of kin
Local coroner's official helped make sure the men got military burials
Without her efforts, they would have been interred in a county-owned facility
Small army of men and women turned out to pay their respects

Bakersfield, California (CNN) -- When Vincent Barrett died alone in July at age 72, the coroner's office could not find any next of kin.

Similarly, Ronald Axtell was listed as indigent -- no survivors and no funds for a funeral -- when he died at age 69.

And yet a small army of men and women gathered to pay their respects to the two men, both Air Force veterans, as they were buried at Bakersfield National Cemetery in September.

Marsha Dickey, who works in the Kern County coroner's office, was instrumental in making sure the men got the honors they deserved.

"She worked very hard to see that they were veterans ... and without that ... we probably would not be here today to honor them," said Lynn Sprayberry, founder and chairwoman of Friends of Fallen Heroes, a local organization that makes sure veterans receive a respectful service at Bakersfield National Cemetery.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/07/vif2.unknown.vets/index.html