The Patriot Guard Riders of New York, alongside local veterans groups, is escorting the veterans' remains to the cemetery in Corfu for burial.
CORFU, N.Y. — Ten unclaimed veterans whose remains went without burial — some for more than 50 years — will be laid to rest with full military honors this Memorial Day weekend at Western New York National Cemetery.
The Patriot Guard Riders of New York, alongside local veterans groups, is escorting the veterans' remains to the cemetery in Corfu for burial.
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Event organizers said the 10 veterans served in conflicts spanning from World War I to the Vietnam War. Some of their cremated remains had remained unclaimed for decades.
“We don’t make any judgments as to why there are unclaimed cremains,” Bill Schaaf of the Patriot Guard Riders said Thursday. “It should be known that they exist literally by the thousands, and our program works with funeral directors to help them identify who is in custodial care of unclaimed remains.
“And then we try to see if we can’t match up a veteran status that then allows them to become eligible to be buried in a national cemetery.”
Organizers say the mission is simple: to ensure “no veteran is ever forgotten.”
