Vietnam Veterans Remembered in Bushnell

Ceremony at Florida National Cemetery honors Vietnam War vets
WFLA News
Jeff Patterson
March 27, 2018

BUSHNELL, Fla. (WFLA) - Bruce Burnham is a historian and Vietnam combat veteran.

The Tampa native served as an MP in Vietnam in 1972 and 1973.

During his tour of duty, he earned the Bronze Star for bravery.

Tuesday, Burnham was the keynote speaker in a ceremony to honor others who served.

"That was a very, very difficult time for many of us who just wanted to come back and be normal again," said Burnham.

The gathering at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell was small.

Burnham believes it is because many Vietnam vets still shy away from ceremonies and talking about their service in public because of the way they were treated by protestors when they returned from the war.
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In Florida, Using Military Discipline to Help Veterans in Prison

In Florida, Using Military Discipline to Help Veterans in Prison

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
Published: December 11, 2011

Jason Henry for The New York Times
Inmates in the special dorm for military veterans at Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell, one of the five prisons with such facilities in Florida

BUSHNELL, Fla. — James R. White, a Marine Corps veteran in a blue uniform, saluted crisply as the honor guard marched around the courtyard, stopped and marched again.

But there were no weapons in sight here. No polished shoes. No gleaming caps. The 85 men standing at attention wore prison garb. When the ceremony was over, they ambled back to their wing of Complex 1, a housing area set aside for military veterans serving time at Sumter Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in rural central Florida.

Florida is one of a handful of states that are rethinking their treatment of incarcerated veterans in the hopes of easing their transition back to society and then keeping them out of prison for good. In August, the state created a program that provides separate dorms in five prisons for honorably discharged military veterans who have no more than three years left on their sentences and who volunteer for it. California and Illinois have similar programs, all designed to address the needs of imprisoned veterans better.

For now, 300 of Florida’s 6,700 incarcerated veterans live in the dorms, a number that state officials intend to increase. The state prison system houses 101,000 inmates in all.

“We’ve come a long way in a few months,” said Jeffrey P. Trovillion, the warden at Sumter Correctional, which does not house death row inmates. “It’s bringing back a sense of pride and discipline.”
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Decorated WWII Veteran Remains Found in Dump

Decorated Vet's Remains Found in Dump
December 02, 2009
Tampa Tribune

TAMPA, Fla. -- Staff Sgt. Delbert E. Hahn survived the invasion of Normandy. He was a two-time Purple Heart recipient, including one for his actions in the days immediately following D-Day.

But when it came to a final resting place, the war hero wasn't treated with honor or respect.

Hahn's cremated remains -- along with those of his wife and a third unidentified person -- were found in a pile of trash dumped behind a vacant college on Busch Boulevard.

"I kind of decided that he shouldn't be out there in the trash," said Mike Colt, 19, who found the three urns. "Really nobody should. For somebody to do that to a World War II vet is kind of ridiculous."

Hahn was a five-time Bronze Star recipient, including one for valor in the Normandy invasion, police say.

It wasn't immediately clear when he died, although Colt said he believes paperwork found along with the urns indicated Hahn retired in the 1960s and died in the early 1980s.

A newspaper clip found in the trash says he received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for "exemplary conduct in ground combat" while serving in the 26th Infantry Regiment in Europe in 1944, Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said.

Hahn's wife, Barbara, died Aug. 1, 2003. She was cremated Aug. 12, 2003, at Southeastern Crematories in Clearwater. A Southeastern funeral director said Tuesday that Barbara Hahn's paperwork wasn't immediately available.

The urns and paperwork were found behind Remington College, 2410 E. Busch Blvd., an area used for illegal dumping. Bills found there show the Hahns had lived in Zephyrhills.

Police say a Department of Veterans Affairs liaison determined the Hahns had no next of kin. VA officials said they were arranging with a Tampa funeral home to have the remains transported to Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.
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Decorated Vets Remains Found in Dump