Unclaimed remains of 14 vets to be buried in Ohio

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Unclaimed, cremated remains of 14 veterans will be buried at the Dayton National Cemetery next week.

The Dayton Daily News reported in today that it is the second group of remains to be buried this year at the cemetery in southwest Ohio under an effort to identify remains of veterans eligible for interment at national cemeteries. The Missing in America Project buried the remains of 15 veterans at the Dayton cemetery last month.

The project’s state coordinator, Steve Ebersole, says veterans who die after leaving service can be eligible for such burial with honors, but sometimes their remains go unclaimed and are placed in storage by funeral homes.

“As a veteran, we all live by the creed that we don’t leave a comrade behind,” Ebersole said. “And this is just one more case where we feel it’s our duty to locate these individuals, these men and women who have been forgotten for years, and get them properly interred with full honors.”