Yes, I shed a few of both at a Patriot Guard mission this morning for a veteran with no family to claim his remains. Sadness because this poor soul had no one on the entire planet that came forward to collect his remains. Joy because of the incredible honor it was to stand a graveside flag line with my brothers and sisters of the Patriot Guard in his honor in place of family. From the mission notice:
"Patriot Guard and Associates;
Sadly, we have been requested to stand a Flag Line for Mark White, US Navy and who is unfortunately, an unclaimed Veteran with no family.
We do not have any further information on this Hero but we do know there is no family and students from Xavier High School will serve as pallbearers."
Xavier High School is an all boys Catholic institution. Six smartly dressed students in school uniform jackets and ties were there with a male advisor.
Little is known about Mark's service. His DD214 is blank except his E-3 pay grade. A theory was raised that he may have died during basic, but no one really knows.
I showed up in time for the 9:15 staging in the CT State Veterans Cemetery with over 20 fellow P.G.R. members. The Navy Honor Guard and state military rifle team arrived next. The boys from Xavier arrived as well as 10 people from the general public that heard about this burial. We assembled our flag line near the freshly opened grave and were in place when the hearse arrived. There was no clergy to perform religious services. The military rendered honors and the folded flag was presented to one of our P.G.R. members, who then laid it on top of the casket. The funeral director closed out the ceremonies with a very nice prepared speech, and individually thanked the different groups in attendance. The entire proceedings took 18 minutes.
That worked out well for me, because there was a P.G.R. mission in MA with staging at 12:30. I would have time to run home and let the dogs out before heading to Agawam. I arrived early giving me time to down a snack and a good drink of cold water. I always carry ice cold water on my bike in one of these:
I have a Swiss Army cargo strap attached to the inside of the bike's trunk to keep it upright and out of the way. The water stays cold all day long.
The service was scheduled for 2 PM and we were done before 2:30. I made the rounds visiting the 5 family graves that includes my parents and headed towards home and lunch. My usual lunch spot in that area is Chick-Fil-A and I got to try the new Honey Pimento chicken sandwich. I recommend the spicy version. SO GOOD! The rest of the ride home included a gas fill up and was uneventful.
Back in the 1980's I became the caretaker for the private belongings of a US veteran who died with no friends and no family. I worked as a contractor at the apartment where he lived and spoke with him every week. The scumbag manager of the complex turned him over to the state when they found him dead and hired me to take all his belongings to the landfill (after she took everything that was "valuable". My girlfriend at the time (now my wife) helped me go through it all to see if there were any items that could be donated to the homeless shelter and we collected many bags of new or nearly new clothing items. Much to our surprise, we found numerous military items, keepsakes and personal items that would have been a crime to dispose of. I still have them today. Harvey Helleberg 4th Marine Regiment. RIP.
ReplyDelete@Chuckusa: Good job keeping Harvey's memory alive. I am disappointed that I have to work October 16th, when the CT Veterans Administration along with the CT Funeral Directors Association will be burying four unclaimed remains of veterans. I attend as many of these as I can with the P.G.R. providing the dignified transfer and motorcycle escort for these poor souls that died in the care of the CTVA, but had no family to claim them.
DeleteI'm so glad there are still folks who take the time and effort to honor the veterans who pass away with no family. I did what I thought was every man's obligation, to protect and honor those who can no longer protect themselves. I grew up emotionally involved in the Vietnam war, I can't hear a propeller aircraft fly overhead without instantly going back to 1968. My friend LCpl Steve Spencer was killed in Beirut in 1983, his picture hangs on my wall. These men and women are a national treasure. My Father, myself and my daughter served...for no other reason than to give back to our states and our country. Parati Servire! Sadly, I feel that this is slipping away, and with the satanic fuck wads who currently run things, I'm afraid it may never return.. Thank you for your service! Most people don't even realize people like you exist.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if the "Arlington Ladies" have reorganized. DS Obama ordered them to cease honoring the deseased Veterans at burials in Arlington cemetary.
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