They fought for freedom, then were forgotten. Unclaimed veterans get final resting place

Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times
Updated ·3 min read

Editor's Note: The Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer have been telling the stories of unclaimed dead and their impact on the community since 2019. The cremated remains of 111 have found final resting places since the project started in 2019. But hundreds more remain unclaimed in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Our original "Unclaimed" stories can be accessed on our website, and includes names, stories and statuses of the unclaimed cases.

John Campbell Morgan, William Strauss and Leonard Wilson had two things in common in life.

They were Bucks County residents who each served in the U.S. military. Strauss and Wilson in the Army during the Korean War and Morgan in the Navy during the Vietnam War.

They also had two things in common in death.

No next-of-kin claimed their bodies and no one checked to see that they were eligible for a free burial with full military honors.

Members of the Guardians of the National Cemetery, Hugh Bell, left, of Levittown, and Terry Schweikert, of Yardley, salute as the last urn is placed, during interments of four unlcaimed veterans and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Members of the Guardians of the National Cemetery, Hugh Bell, left, of Levittown, and Terry Schweikert, of Yardley, salute as the last urn is placed, during interments of four unlcaimed veterans and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
U.S. Army Captain Craig Robbins, hands the American Flag to Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck, R.N., J,D.., during the service for four unclaimed veterans, and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
U.S. Army Captain Craig Robbins, hands the American Flag to Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck, R.N., J,D.., during the service for four unclaimed veterans, and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.

It was not until this year, more than 10 years after their deaths, that the Bucks County Coroner’s Office learned about the men’s veteran status and checked their eligibility for burial at Washington Crossing National Cemetery.

On Thursday, the remains of the three men, the widow of a World War II veteran who died in 2012,  and a Warminster veteran who died earlier this year in Montgomery County were interred at the cemetery in the monthly unclaimed veterans memorial service.

The five had been among the hundreds of unclaimed dead whose remains are stored in coroner offices in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

The brief service included a bagpipes singing  “Amazing Grace,” a three-volley rifle salute followed by a solo trumpet blowing “Taps.”

Rev. Mitch Triestman, pastor at Friends of Israel in Levittown, provided a eulogy that centered on the relationship between faith and the core principles of a soldier’s creed.

Rev. Mitch Triestman speaks during the service for four unclaimed veterans, and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Rev. Mitch Triestman speaks during the service for four unclaimed veterans, and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Playing taps is Dave Farren, of Bensalem, a member of the Guardians of the National Cemetery, during the service for four unclaimed veterans, and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Playing taps is Dave Farren, of Bensalem, a member of the Guardians of the National Cemetery, during the service for four unclaimed veterans, and one spouse, held at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in Upper Makefield, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.

Longest held unclaimed in Bucks buried He died alone in 1999. Now Bucks County's longest held unclaimed remains are buried.

Regardless of what branch the veterans honored Thursday served in, where or when, Triestman said he knows one thing they learned in basic training.

Namely the core principles that, he said, serve as the backbone of military code and honor: Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage

“I don’t know much about their lives. I can’t. I don’t know much about their service. How would I know?’ he added. “But I know they were exposed to those seven basic core principles all of their entire military life and I know those engender faith and commitment to the God who honors faith.”

Since 2019 at least 30 unclaimed veterans and spouses who died in Bucks County have been interred. Some remains have been in storage for 10 years or longer.

All but four of those unclaimed veterans have been moved to a veterans cemetery since Coroner Meredith Buck took office in January 2020.  She has attended every monthly unclaimed service where Bucks County veterans are put to rest.

Buck said when she took over as coroner she found it disturbing to learn there were unclaimed dead in county custody who qualified for a free military burial at the time of their death, but apparently no one had checked.

Buck has assigned a deputy coroner to check veteran status of unclaimed dead who are brought to the morgue and works closely with veteran services at the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery.

The deputy coroner is also reviewing old files of unclaimed dead to see if anything involving next-of-kin was missed at the time of their death. They are currently looking at 2012 records.

In reviewing those files, Buck said that staff has found driver licenses with special emblems indicating they were a military veteran.

“To not have picked that up and got these veterans interred sooner is disappointing,” she added.  “It has been my goal not to leave any veteran behind.”

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County veterans unclaimed for a decade are now at rest