ROSS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The remains of seven mid-Michigan veterans who did not have family members to arrange their burials were laid to rest by their fellow service members in Fort Custer National Cemetery Friday morning.
Their lives were honored with prayer and military honors. Fellow veterans, active duty service members, police and fire crews paid their respects as each urn was delivered to the ceremony near Augusta.
“I know that we are absolutely doing the right thing. We wait and do this once a year. We want to make sure that we lay everybody to rest at the same time because we’d like to do a large ceremony we want to give them everything that they deserve,” said Michelle Fox, chief investigator at the office of the medical examiner through the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow in Lansing.
She said the duty of caring for these veterans, referred to as ‘unaccompanied,’ starts from the moment of death. First, staff memners work diligently to find surviving family members. If no one can be found or the next of kin cannot take care of final arrangements, the office works with funeral homes and the Department of Defense. When a person is are found to be eligible to be interred at the national cemetery, cremated remains are held until the annual ceremony for such veterans, which is a long-standing tradition organized by the medical examiner’s office and Fort Custer Cemetery staff.
“It’s just a wonderful gift to be able to give them. They serve our country, they give us the freedoms that we have, and to be able to give back to that and give back to them and to be able to lay them to rest in a place with their brothers and sisters,” Fox said.
The unaccompanied veterans honored Friday included:
- Petty Officer 3rd Class James Morris, U.S Navy, from Lansing
- Cpl. Jerry Robinson, U.S. Marine Corps, from Lansing
- Sgt. Frank Bursik, U.S. Air Force, from Owosso Township
- Sgt. Lana Schaeffer, U.S. Air Force, from East Lansing
- Pfc. Kenneth Blake, U.S. Army, from Lansing
- Pfc. Sherry Shawley, U.S. Army, from Meridian Township
- Spc. Douglas Bruce Harris, U.S. Army
After 40 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard, retired Col. Frank Walker knows the bond of family created by service.
“These seven veterans that we inter today are part of our family, and we don’t let the family leave this world without being recognized and let them know the love that we had for them when they were with us on this earthly world,” Walker said.
Walker said service doesn’t end after retirement. For him, service now focuses on caring for veterans and showing appreciation.
“(For) their Gold Star families, every day is Memorial Day, so we might celebrate veteran’s day on 11 November, but in my world, every single day is veteran’s day,” he said.
