Unclaimed no more: Four Bucks veterans to be buried next week

Jo Ciavaglia
Updated ·4 min read

Jack Allison Foust spent nine months in the U.S. military more than 70 years ago.

His service combined with an honorable discharge made him eligible for a burial with full military honors.

Next week Foust will be interred at Washington Crossing National Cemetery on the 12th anniversary of his death.

The cremated remains of the former Warrington resident have been in storage at the Bucks County morgue in Warminster since his 2007 death at age 80. He is one of a dozen unclaimed veterans — including four from Bucks County — who will be honored at the monthly unattended veteran memorial service at the Upper Makefield veterans cemetery.

This news organization identified the men as veterans, as well as two more in Montgomery County, among the more than 200 unclaimed dead in Bucks and Montgomery counties as part of its ongoing project, “The Unclaimed,” which is looking at the growing burden of unclaimed dead on local governments and communities. The unclaimed remains are stored in county morgues.

This news organization found evidence of the men's military service after more than a year of researching various online sources including the Social Security Death Index, U.S. Veterans Affairs and online genealogy sites. In addition to Foust, who spent nine months in U.S. military service starting Oct. 21, 1945, the unclaimed veterans who will be interred at the national veterans cemetery are:

• Leo Murphy, who served two tours in the U.S. Army from 1977 to 1983. He died at age 52 in a homeless camp in Bristol Township in September 2010.

• Bensalem resident John M. McClintock, who died at 84 in 2013, after serving in the military from August 1947 through July 1952.

• Bensalem resident Eugene Gorski who died at 84 in 2010. His name was found on an April 4, 1946 muster roll for the crew of the USS Stag, a tanker that was dispatched to the South Pacific during World War II.

Staff for Bucks County Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1 of Middletown, worked with local veteran advocate Bernadette Heenan, of Northampton, to fast-track the necessary determinations to confirm the men’s military service and eligibility for a military burial at no cost.

This is a copy of the military documents for John McClintock, a World War II veteran who died unclaimed. He was interred in the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in 2019
This is a copy of the military documents for John McClintock, a World War II veteran who died unclaimed. He was interred in the Washington Crossing Veterans Cemetery in 2019
Military draft registration card for Jack Allison Foust
Military draft registration card for Jack Allison Foust

To qualify, military service has to be proven through a document known as a DD214, which are given to members at discharge. All DD214s are kept at the National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; local congressional offices and military organizations can get them for burial purposes.

But somebody has to make the request.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey do not require funeral homes or county agencies to identify or notify veteran authorities about potential unclaimed military veterans.

Pennsylvania also has no law giving veteran groups the ability to claim deceased veterans cremated remains, though neighboring New Jersey gave veterans’ organizations the ability after one year if no family comes forward, under a 2009 law. The remains must be disposed of in a dignified manner.

Fitzpatrick’s office is also in the process of identifying a fifth possible unclaimed Bucks County veteran who died in March at age 90. He will not be part of the August unattended service.

The coroner’s office in Montgomery County has identified at least five veterans over the last 11 years, according to First Deputy Coroner Alex Balacki. His office forwards information about possible deceased military veterans to county and federal veteran organization for verification.

Currently, Balacki is waiting for a response about the veteran burial eligibility for Leroy and Lucille Bortner, who both died in 1986. A man believed to be their grandson abandoned the cremated remains at the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office about five years ago.

This is a copy of the military discharge for LeRoy Bortner. Bortner and his wife, Lucille's ashes were dropped off at the Montgomery County Coroner's office by a relative who didn't know what to do with them.
This is a copy of the military discharge for LeRoy Bortner. Bortner and his wife, Lucille's ashes were dropped off at the Montgomery County Coroner's office by a relative who didn't know what to do with them.

This news organization found documents showing that Leroy Bortner served in the U.S. Army during World War II, including a veteran’s compensation application, which should make him eligible for him and his wife to be buried in a veteran cemetery.

Balacki is awaiting to see if his office can locate the relative of another potential veteran, Benjamin Harrison, 51, who died 2009, who had indicated in she wanted his cremated remains. If not, Balacki plans to contact the Veterans Administration after this news organization found documentation that Harrison served in the U.S. Army for 11 months in 1977-78.

The nine other unclaimed veterans who will be part of the interment ceremony Thursday are from the Chester County Coroner’s Office.

A summer intern in the office tracked down necessary information that was forwarded to the National Archives in St. Louis. The intern identified seven unclaimed veterans in 2017 who were also buried at Washington Crossing.

This story originally appeared in the Bucks County Courier Times on Aug. 20. 2019

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Unclaimed no more: Four Bucks veterans to be buried next week