‘Missing in America’ official gives thanks
Thanks to all who helped to make it possible to inter 34 Pennsylvania and West Virginia veterans so far and to allow us to identify 29 more, who will be interred on May 15.
Cremains have been investigated, and 80 veterans have been located. We have had the help of Jerry Puff and John Moore of Butler County and Miles Glotfelty of Washington County, all MIAP volunteers. A special thanks to our leader John Fabry who has helped above and beyond.
The Missing in America Project has been struggling across the nation to locate unclaimed cremains/remains of veterans. Once veteran eligibility is established, we try to gain their release and arrange their burial at one of the many national cemeteries.
I have had the honor of attending five such ceremonies so far, one in West Virginia and four at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. After years of neglect these forgotten heroes are finally given the honors and burial they have earned and deserve.
Spouses and dependents, if they qualify, can also be interred even if the veteran is not buried in a national cemetery.
For one reason or another, it is not uncommon to find cremains being stored in funeral homes, crematories and even abandoned houses/cars and buildings. We have had an uphill battle trying to gain access to the information needed to complete our mission. A big issue was the privacy act and people just not wanting to be bothered.
About three years ago I attended a veteran program sponsored by state Rep. Deb Kula, D-North Union Township. I met one of her aides Lori Lambie. I explained to her the program I was trying to get started in Pennsylvania.
Lori was very interested and introduced me to Deb who was also interested. I had requested help from many people, but she was the only one that wanted to know more. I had a meeting with her not long after that and explained to her in detail the mission and purpose of the MIAP.
I told her that other states had passed legislation to help MIAP and asked her if she thought we could attempt to have one written for Pennsylvania. She thought it was a great idea. Deb is always ready to help veterans with any issue, and I was relieved that she wanted to take this on. I really needed help.
Deb worked with Linda Smith, the national vice president of the MIAP, on drafting up legislation. It was reviewed by the legal department and submitted. Everyone thought it would be passed with no problems, and she had many co-sponsors on the legislation. It started off by unanimous acceptance in the state House of Representatives and stalled for one year in the state Senate.
It was through the help of Deb, Steve Haky, Joe T. Joseph, Ron Metros, John Fabry, Chester Prinkey and other supporters, too many to mention, that the legislation was passed in June of 2012 with a little push.
Deb started the ball rolling, and since our bill became law there has been one law passed in Washington, D.C., called the Dignified Burial Act of 2012 which was signed in January of 2012 and was to take effect January 2013. This law was supposed have the Veterans Administration supply a coffin or urn to any veteran who was abandoned or could not afford one and also cover the expense to transport the veterans for burial.
John Fabry attempted to try this in February by purchasing two coffins and having a ceremony and burial of two veterans. No one can tell us the procedure. We are in the progress of having this checked into, but we’ve learned nothing so far.
Deb was also the primer for another law that was introduced U.S. Rep Billl Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, called the Distinguished Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2014. It is believed that it will pass the house with no problems.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is then going to introduce it in the Senate, which should pass it, and then move to the president for his signature. We hope it will open doors to the information needed to ensure all veterans are recognized for what they have earned. This will be a national law, which will cover every veteran in the nation and remove all of the obstacles we have encountered.
The MIAP needs volunteers to continue their mission. There are 1,600 funeral homes in Pennsylvania and a coroner in every county to be contacted. We have had success working with the Allegheny County Medical Examiner and Dr. Reilly, the Fayette County coroner, so far, but we need the rest of the counties to join us. It is estimated by the MIAP that there are 200,000-plus abandoned veterans and dependents.
I personally would like to thank all of those that helped us, but there’s lots of work to do yet. For more information about the project, search the Internet at http://www.miap.us/.
A resident of Lemont Furnace, Lanny R. Golden is the assistant coordinator for Pa. MIAP.