The remains of 20 familyless veterans received full military honors on Saturday as part of the largest mass burial of its kind in U.S. history. The ceremony, conducted at Calverton National Cemetery on eastern Long Island, was part of a national initiative begun in 2000 to ensure that all veterans receive a proper funeral.

 

The January 8 ceremony included prayers, flag-draped coffins, bagpipers, the playing of “Taps” and speeches by local congressmen. It was organized by the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, which has provided services for about 850 veterans in 32 cities across the country.

 

Among those buried at Calverton were Army Sergeant Anderson Alston (1924-2008), who served in World War II; Army Private Theodore Jackson (1954-2010), who served from March 1975 to October 1979; Barry Carl Brooks (1936-2010), who served in the Air Force from 1957 to 1969; and Myron Sanford Mabry (1949-2010), who was in the Navy from May 1960 to July 1971.

 

Private First Class Miguel Lugo joined the Army in January 1954 and was honorably discharged in January 1956. Born in Puerto Rico, Lugo worked at the reception desk of the Audubon Partnership for Economic Development in New York City, greeting immigrants who needed help. He died in August 2008 at the age of 78.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

20 New York Homeless Veterans to Receive Military Funerals (Dignity Memorial)

One Vet Who Helped Others, but Died Alone (by Víctor Manuel Ramos, Newsday)

NY Burials Planned for 20 Unclaimed Veterans (by Frank Eltman, Associated Press)