BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–The unclaimed cremated remains of three United States veterans were buried on Wednesday, April 24 at the Beaufort National Cemetery.
Prior to the burial, the three veterans’ cremated remains had been stored, for several years, at the Berkeley County morgue.
When Berkeley County Coroner George Oliver began his job as county coroner in January 2019, he did an inventory of the county morgue.
VIA BERKELEY COUNTY GOVERNMENT
He discovered 19 unclaimed cremated remains. Three of the 19 remains were determined to be United States veterans.
Coroner Oliver then worked with Veteran Affairs and the Del Webb Veteran’s Club, specifically Martin Ryan and Kenneth V. Smith, to coordinate the transportation and burial of the three Veterans to the Beaufort National Cemetery.
The three veterans are as follows:
• Frank Remeikis, World War II Veteran in the United States Army (Rank Unknown) His unclaimed cremains had been stored in the Berkeley County Morgue since 2000
• Wesley Jones, Vietnam Veteran Era United States Navy (CPO)CPO Jones’ unclaimed cremains had been stored in the Berkeley County Morgue since 2007
• Walter Boyd Hall, Vietnam Veteran Era United States Army (SP4) SP4 Hall’s unclaimed cremains had been stored in the Berkeley County Morgue since 2012
All three veterans had been honorably discharged from service at their respective times.
VIA BERKELEY COUNTY GOVERNMENT
More than 550 people attended the ceremony for these three Veterans at noon on April 24, 2019. A military chaplain conducted a burial service for these men. Both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army sent representatives to perform flag services.
“We don’t know the full story of their lives, but we do know they were men of service who deserved to be honored,” said Berkeley County Coroner George Oliver. “The ceremony for these men was incredible, and the support at the service was larger than we could have ever imagined. Thanks to the hard work of many, we were able to honor these heroes in a respectful way, to demonstrate how much we appreciate their service to our Country.
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