CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Thirteen American soldiers who died with no known family members have been laid to rest at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Keithville.
“Today we will be their family. We will ensure that they are not alone,” the announcer said during a somber ceremony Thursday morning.
The Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps veterans received full military honors, including the playing of Taps, flag-folding ceremonies and the firing of triple volleys. With a tableaux of 13 patriotically adorned urns forming a backdrop, folded flags were presented to veterans or agency individuals serving as representatives of the honored dead.
Most of the veterans served in Vietnam, though at least one fought in the Persian Gulf War. The oldest was 72 and the youngest was 60. One of the veterans had died almost 10 years ago but remained unclaimed.
According to the Caddo Coroner’s Office, Death Investigator Katrina Wright started looking into unclaimed veterans after she was asked by a nurse to help find the family of a veteran who died at a local hospital. She made one call that led to a series of others with no resolution and no final resting place for the veteran, whose remains ended up at the coroner’s office.
“It made me a little angry,” she said. “I didn’t understand how this could happen to people who fought for this country.”
She eventually was connected to Christina Currington with the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, who was similarly motivated. With the blessings of Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma, they researched the veterans, finding discharge papers and other effects needed to track families and determine eligibility for burial in a military cemetery.
They started with 21 veterans with no families of record. One family stepped forward to claim their loved one. Seven still remain in the research process.
Veterans who were honored Thursday were:
PVT Edward Eugene Arnold, Army
SFC Ernest Roy Dill, Army
PV1 Mark Vincent Fox, Navy
A1C Terrance Keith Hunt, Air Force
SGT Perry Jenkins Jr., Army
PFC Frances Marion Neely, Marines
SR Harvey Lee Ramsey, Navy
SR/PV1 Edward Troy Rash Jr., Navy/Army
SN James Edward Rountre, Navy
SP4 Phillip Gregory Vogelman, Army
SR Johnnie Ferrell Watkins, Navy
PV2 Charles Emmett Whittington II, Army
PFC Clifton Williams, Army
Fellow vets and people from the community stepped up Thursday to serve as family representatives in their place.
“There’s nowhere in the state that supports veterans like the Shreveport-Bossier area,” said Secretary Joey Strickland, Louisiana Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Secretary Strickland said the military mission continues even in death.
“In our military tradition we leave no one behind on the battlefield that includes our veterans,” Strickland said. “As long as we show our respect to fallen veterans and we honor them, they never die.”