Florida Veterans Unclaimed Remains from 4 Wars Laid to Rest

Unclaimed remains of war veterans laid to rest at Lake Worth cemetery
Sun Sentinel
Erika Pesantes
December 6, 2015

On Saturday, laid to rest were: Jack Legan, Frank H. Vadurro, Charles J. Valkenburg, Carol Andre Shepherd, Jacob S. Cohen, Ignatius Patrick Crisci, John Joseph Fitzgerald, Wayne Andrew Ludwig, Frank Wilfred O' Hara Jr., John Edward Lee, Charles William Morton, James Edward Sullivan, William Vaselekos and Louis Walter Harvey, Jr.

Army Major Michael Flynn inters the remains of U.S. Army Corpral Jack Legan as Marshall Murphy of the South Florida National Cemetary looks on. Veterans and volunteers were on hand at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth to take part in the burial ceremony for the Missing in America Project. The nonprofit locates, identifies and inters the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans, spouses and dependents that have sat on funeral home shelves for decades. During the ceremony the unclaimed remains of 14 veterans and seven veterans' spouses were interred. December 5, 2015. Jim Rassol, Sun Sentinel.
(Jim Rassol / Sun Sentinel)

The mahogany urns bore gold plaques that read: "You are not forgotten." On Saturday, they were remembered for their heroic acts.

Up to a quarter century after their deaths, the cremated remains of 14 war veterans and the spouses of another seven service members were finally given a dignified burial under stormy skies.

Those veterans, who served in World War I and II, and the Korean and Vietnam wars, were laid to rest at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth thanks to volunteers from the non-profit, Missing in America Project.

"Each one that we lay to rest today is a hero. You, men, who we bury today, we say goodbye to you with thankful hearts because you've embodied heroism," guest speaker Brian Mast said. "And because you've embodied bravery on our behalf and on behalf of your own families and on behalf of our grateful nation."
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