newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ANNE-MARIE COTTONE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

They were part of the Greatest Generation, and as young men they joined the military and served with honor during World War II.

But after they returned to civilian life, their deaths passed unnoticed and their bravery was forgotten — until now.

On May 15, the cremains of Army veteran Joseph P. Glass and Navy seaman George P. Wells received the military burials they deserved, thanks to a statewide effort organized by veteran organizations from across New Jersey.

New Jersey's Mission of Honor for the Cremains of American Veterans is working to locate, identify and inter the ashes of veterans whose remains were not claimed by family or friends.

The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is assisting in the effort, and in April, Gov. Jon Corzine signed legislation to bury the cremated remains of veterans who have gone unclaimed in New Jersey, the Examiner reports.

The remains of Glass and Wells were located at a funeral home in Lodi and were taken by a military vehicle and honor guard to the Brigadier Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown on May 15 for the first Mission of Honor service.

It is unknown how many veterans' cremains have gone unclaimed in the state's funeral homes, hospitals, senior homes, prisons and other institutions, but the number may exceed 1,000, according to Roman P. Niedzwiedz, chairman of the Mission of Honor. "There are over 1,600 funeral homes in New Jersey. If each one has only one veteran cremain you can do the numbers," he writes in an e-mail.

"In one funeral home we have found 140 cremains, of which six so far have been identified as veterans. In another funeral home we have found 12 cremains, of which three have been identified as veterans. The identification process is time consuming as we have to be very accurate," he writes.

The group's next interment ceremony will be in June or July and will be for World War I veterans, according to Niedzwiedz.