Veterans honor unclaimed brethren

In Riverside California, the four years old group, Veterans Without Family, has honored 1500 veterans who have died and have been buried in the Riverside National Cemetery. Those veterans had no family to claim their mortal coils, so the organization fills that void according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin;

Veterans Without Family founder Doyle Tolbert realized the need when he was an investigator for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office and noticed that many veterans whose bodies were left unclaimed went without a proper burial.

On a weekly basis, veterans were buried without a song or a prayer.

“Before 2008, veterans who have no family were given no military honors,” Tolbert said. “They were given a direct burial, which is essentially a truck backing up and putting the body in a hole.”

Today, Tolbert works not only with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office but agencies throughout Southern California to identify the unclaimed veterans headed to the Riverside cemetery. All unclaimed bodies are checked for veteran status.

Many visiting veterans who participate in the ceremony have gone back to their hometowns to start a similar effort. Tolbert said there are now military ceremonies being held for veterans without family members in Minnesota, Iowa and Texas.

Category: Veterans Issues