There are thousands of unclaimed, cremated remains in funeral homes across this nation. The law of averages dictates a certain percentage of those remains belong to US veterans. Those veterans' remains stay in the funeral homes when they could not be claimed, for whatever reason.
The Missing in America Project's (MAP) focus is to claim and name the remains of veterans who have already been cremated. MAP volunteers have visited more than 1,400 funeral homes out of the 54,000 across the nation. Of the 9,050 previously unclaimed cremated remains the volunteers have identified, they were able to verify more than 1,200 as veterans. They have interred more than 1,000 of those remains with military honors.
Two lawmakers are doing their best to help MAP accomplish their goals and ensure thousands more veterans are given the respect they deserve. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) have combined forces and introduced new legislation.
Their bill would force the VA Secretary to collaborate with veterans service organizations to accomplish at least two goals.
First, they would need to work together to establish if unclaimed veterans' remains qualify for burial in national cemeteries. Second, they would need to determine if and how the VA would cover burial costs for the remains of veterans with no family or resources.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.
Category: Veterans' Disability
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Soldiers can return home with a number of conditions, injuries, and aggravated preexisting conditions. If you believe you have a service-connected physical or psychological injury you may be entitled to Veterans’ Disability Compensation.