'We got them all.' The longest unclaimed veterans in Bucks County finally laid to rest

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 at least 115 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.

Nothing about the May unclaimed veterans memorial service at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery stood apart from all the past ceremonies held the last Thursday of the month to honor veterans with no one to remember them.

A bagpipe player signaled the start. The color guard fired three volley salutes followed by a trumpet solo of Taps. An American flag was unfolded, refolded and presented. A retired U.S. Navy commander eulogized the departed and talked of the sacrifices of those who served their country.

Following the 15 minute service, mourners paid respects to five wooden boxes topped with inscribed gold plates holding the ashes of long dead, nearly forgotten, veterans who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

As people departed the stone pavilion, Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck took a last glance at the wood boxes.  For her, this last Thursday of May marked an important milestone.

“We got them all,” she said.

The five veterans were the longest held in the county morgue. They are also among the last of the unclaimed male veterans that Buck inherited nearly four years ago who have found final resting places they earned.

When she assumed officer in January 2020, there were more than 200 unclaimed dead in the county’s possession, including what turned out to be more than 30 military veterans or spouses who were eligible for free burials in veterans cemeteries with full military honors.

But no one had checked their status before Buck made it a priority to go back and review the old case files.

The final two unclaimed veterans from before her time, who died in 2018, will be laid to rest at the ceremony next month at Washington Crossing National Cemetery. Buck will be there, too. She has attended all the services since 2020.

On Thursday, the remains of Richard Cadwallader, 62, of Falls, Joseph Kosco, 77, of Telford, Bruce Nelson, 64, of Middletown, John Gale, 65, of Middletown, and Joseph Miller, 81, of Middletown, who served in the U.S. Army, were interred.

Cadwallader died in 2008; Kosco and Nelson died in 2009; Gale and Miller died in 2010. Cadwallader, Kosco, Miller and Nelson all served in the U.S. Army. Gale served in the U.S. Navy.

Three of the men lived in the same long-term care facility, Buck said.

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While all previously unclaimed male veterans have been accounted for, the work continues to identify any female veterans among the remaining unclaimed dead, and veteran spouses, Buck said.

“My staff cares just as much as I do,” she added.

Deputy Coroner Kristina Johnson, who has led the effort to reexamine the records, which dated to 1999, has identified the remains of three spouses of veterans, who were eligible for free burials in veterans cemeteries. Those remains have been interred, too.

Johnson is currently combing through records from 2008, a task she balances with other duties, including identifying and searching for next-of-kin for new unclaimed dead. So far she has found no unclaimed female military records, she said.

The research required to confirm eligible veteran spouses is challenging, because it requires finding documents showing military service and marriage. The Veterans Affairs department does not have readily available information about spouses, either.

“It’s a much longer process,” Johnson added. “It’s digging into their past.”

Buck, who will leave office at the end of the year after failing to secure the Democrat ballot in the May 19 primary, counts securing final resting places for at least 50 unclaimed dead, and counting, including veterans as among her proudest accomplishments.

“It was our goal that we do this and we are going to keep trying until we figure out the rest,” she said.  “I’m proud of the work this office does to investigate and properly inter people who have served our country and the ones who are unclaimed. It’s important that everyone is properly laid to rest.”

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County coroner left no veteran or spouse behind during tenure