Columbia, SC (WLTX) - A national program geared to giving homeless veterans an honorable burial is coming to the Midlands. The Dignity Memorial Network of Funeral Providers has been helping bury homeless veterans around the nation since 2000.
There are several funeral homes here in the Midlands that are involved in the program.
"We are making sure to provide all things necessary to provide them with a traditional burial service at the national cemetery," says William Lynch, chairman of Caughman-Harman Funeral Home.
Back in February, Lynch saw the coverage of the burial of homeless veteran Dennis Reidy. Reidy was an Air Force veteran and served as a Richland County Deputy, but died homeless and was found in a Lexington County park.
Lynch says learning of Reidy's death encouraged him to bring the program here.
"It kind of really laid on my heart that there's a lot of homeless veterans in our community that have fallen on hard times, which is certainly ok, but at some point when they pass away, there's really no one to take care of them."
On Tuesday night, Lynch spoke to a room full of coroners, funeral home providers and cemetery directors about their role in the program and how they can identify eligible veterans.
The veteran must be eligible for burial in a Veterans Affairs National Cemetery. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs burial in a VA national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and Veterans who have met minimum active duty service requirements, as applicable by law and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
"There are more homeless veterans than there were in past decades due to the current war," says Robert Bryson, assistant director for the Fort Jackson National Cemetery. "For us to go out and find these guys and make sure they are laid to rest is a key thing for us."
The funeral homes involved in the program will provide all of their services, including the clothing and the casket, free of charge. The US Department of Veterans Affairs will also provide the gravesite, headstone and the ceremony.
