On July 12, 2019 The Nevada Veterans Coalition conducted its eighteenth mission at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery (NNVMC) by honoring fifteen veterans whose remains have been in the care of a local mortuary, yet remained unclaimed.
My father was invited to attend this ceremony and receive the flag on behalf of the 15 Veterans who were at last laid to rest. I never knew that there were so many US Veterans who are sitting on a shelf waiting to be claimed. How can that happen? Where are their loved ones, and why haven’t they found their sons or daughters who have passed?
Over 150 people were in attendance for the ceremony. The Patriot Guard Riders provided an escort from Sparks Nevada to the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley. Government Officials, The Northern Nevada Honor Guard, Representatives of all the Armed Forces and members of the surrounding communities all were there to witness or participate in the solemn event. Many stood in the 100-degree sun during the hour-long ceremony.
