The Missing In America Project (MIAP) is an amazing group whose mission it is to rescue abandoned remains of U.S. veterans and inter them in an appropriate resting place with full military honors. I have attended 3 of their ceremonies in my state, one at the national cemetery and two at the state veterans cemetery. No two are alike, but all extremely touching, involve a variety of military, veterans, and civilian representatives, and overall do the veterans proud. Last week they honored the remains of former Civil War drummer boy Zachariah Stucker of Illinois in Washington state. (You can read about this here and here.) Like all service organizations, the MIAP can use more volunteers and more donors to cover the cost of following the laws re: laying claim to someone else's ashes. Likewise, if you are have a friend or family member's cremains on the shelf and wonder what to do with them, you can talk to the MIAP about including him or her in their next ceremony. They are not just for the homeless or the unclaimed. Check out the web site for ceremonies near you.
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AuthorThe author is a historian with a Ph.D. in US history and a love for genealogy and old photos. Archives
August 2018
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