Unclaimed veterans get special funeral

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - After the Office of the Medical Investigator told Bernalillo County officials about a build-up of unclaimed cremated remains, the New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services is taking action.

The Forgotten Heroes Burial Program was recently started and will hold its first ceremony June 3. The funeral will honor 14 veterans from Bernalillo County whose cremated remains were never claimed by family or friends.

A 9-month-old Albuquerque company is custom making all 14 urns for the ceremony.

“They made a contribution so that I can be free and you can be free and everybody owes them respect for that,” Jeannie Johnson, manager of Urns by Heavenly Design , said. “Basically these urns are to set apart dignity, caring and quality.”

The company started out as a cabinet making company, but the slow economy forced workers into a new direction. The company says it wasn’t able to pass up the opportunity to help veterans.

“They’re veterans that were in nursing homes; they may not have had any family to claim them when they passed away,” Johnson said. “We wanted to be a part of the program that gave them an eternal resting place.”

The urns are being customized for each veteran with their name, service, rank, and other information about their duty.

They’ll be unveiled at the ceremony on June 3 at the Santa Fe National cemetery.