'Their march is over': Two Marion County vets, bodies unclaimed, laid to rest with dignity

Two local veterans who died in December might have been laid to rest without even a thank you for their military service if not for the efforts of two local funeral homes, the local veterans community, and a Marion County government program that handles unclaimed bodies.

Robert Joseph Hamill Sr., 80, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard from 1958 to 1962, died on Dec. 12, 2021. Charles Sumner Wesley II, 72, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970, died on Christmas Day 2021.

No family or friends came forward to claim the remains of the two honorably discharged veterans. They were both recognized with military honors ceremonies at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens on June 1 after their veteran status was determined as part of the Marion County Unclaimed Bodies program.

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Charles Sumner Wesley II

A friend of Wesley’s was contacted by the Star-Banner after the ceremonies.

“He deserved it,” the friend, a woman, said of the military honors.

She had a copy of a law degree dated 1989 from Thomas M. Cooley Law School of Western Michigan University conferred on Charles Sumner Wesley II.

A call to the school confirmed a person named Charles Wesley did graduate in 1989.

The veteran’s friend said Wesley was a helicopter crew chief during the Vietnam War and told her he had been exposed to Agent Orange.

“(Wesley) died from seven types of cancer,” she said.

It was not clear if the woman’s southeast Marion County address or any of her contact information was used when Wesley was admitted to a local hospital, or when he was apparently about to enter hospice just before he died.

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Robert Joseph Hamill Sr.

Connie Shepard lives in the apartment building in northeast Ocala where Hamill evidently lived.

“(Hamill) was a retired tugboat captain from New York," Shepard said.

She said Hamill had discussed his military service, which was before he became a tugboat captain.

Shepard said Hamill was not seen for several days and she saw law enforcement respond to the building.

The Ocala Police Department confirmed there is a record of a well-being check on Dec. 16, 2021, at the apartments.

A eulogy, hymn, rifle salute, benediction and flag presentation

The ceremonies on June 1 at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens, one for each veteran, were organized by the Marion County Veterans Council and included a eulogy, hymn, rifle salute, benediction and flag presentation.

Patricia Asquino, Darice Linden, Valerie Roobol and Jean Destache of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4781 Angela Santos Memorial Post provided an Honor Guard, with Heidi Brown serving as captain.

A rifle squad from the post included Mike Asquino, Charles Calhoun and Jerry Landrum.

Bugler Shelia Dooley sounded taps.

The two veterans were honored at the ceremonies for their service to America. As was said during the eulogy: "Their march is over."

Marion County Veterans Council Chaplain Michael Kelso and Brown co-narrated the ceremonies. Calhoun handed an American flag to Candy Kelso, wife of Michael Kelso, who sat in as a proxy family member for the veterans.

A group of perhaps a dozen motorcyclists escorted the ashes of each veteran from Forest Lawn to an outdoor venue on the adjacent Memory Gardens cemetery for the ceremonies.

The riders included members of the Copperheads Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club from the Ocala Police Department and Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Chapter of the Birdwell Foundation for PTSD, and private riders.

Looking out for each other

Harvey Lanphere saw the upcoming ceremony mentioned on Facebook and attended to pay his respects and ride his Victory motorcycle in the escort.

He has two sons serving in the Armed Forces now.

The local Kingdom of the Sun Chapter of the Military Officers of America Association was also represented at the ceremony.

State Sen. Keith Perry attended to pay his respects. He said it was an "uplift" how veterans "look out for each other.”

Two containers holding the veterans' ashes, present at the ceremonies, are set to be placed at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, possibly with additional honors there.

What to do when a body goes unclaimed?

About 100 bodies, such as those of the two veterans, are handled annually under the Marion County Unclaimed Bodies program, according to information supplied by county Senior Public Information Specialist Stacie Causey and Public Relations Specialist Mark Anderson.

“Civilian unclaimed bodies are cremated, and the ashes are held at Roberts Downtown Chapel (since October, 2020, the contractor for the county for the program) for at least 120 days. In reality, Roberts typically holds the ashes for much longer as they continue attempts to locate next of kin,” Causey wrote an email.

“After at least 120 days, the ashes are disposed of properly, either by scattering at sea, within a scattering garden, or taken to the Florida National Cemetery, if an eligible veteran,” she wrote.

The information provided by Causey and staff stated: "Anyone who will reimburse the county/Community Services for the cost of the cremation of an unclaimed body can claim the remains of the deceased."

There are exceptions to cremation “when the deceased is unknown or possibly a victim of an ongoing investigation, then they must be buried,” she explained.

In an email, Josh Leverette with Roberts Funeral Home provided additional information about the process.

"We file the death certificate with the state, and spend ample time researching to find family or someone to claim the decedent. If the decedent is not claimed after approximately 30 days (sometimes even longer), we will then cremate the body. At that point we keep the ashes for at least 120 days (most of the time it is much longer) to still continue looking for the family to claim the decedent," he wrote.

"After the 120-day minimum holding period has passed the ashes are placed in an ossuary (an underground receptacle) in which they are not accessible to the public, nor are they retrievable. If the unclaimed decedent is a veteran (such as Hamill and Wesley) and upon completion of the services the ashes will then be taken to Florida National Cemetery for interment," Leverette stated.

Suzanne McGuire with the Marion County Veterans Council said the council has provided military honors services for homeless veterans for 15 years, with the ceremonies usually held at Forest Lawn.

McGuire stated in an email that the Marion County Veterans Council will work with the county's Unclaimed Bodies program and continue to hold veteran ceremonies at Forest Lawn through the national Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program (DignityMemoral.com).

The Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, a separate program not connected to the county Unclaimed Bodies program, is a joint effort of the network of Dignity Memorial funeral service providers like Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Memory Gardens and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Causey forwarded statements from the Unclaimed Bodies contractor about the status of the cases of two veterans’ remains.

The statements indicated both veterans had homes in the county but no family was located for one of the veterans, “only a friend whose number was disconnected.”

A family member was found and contacted for the other veteran but the family member “declined to claim him," according to the statements.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Marion County, Florida honors vets whose bodies were unclaimed