“Because of a 25-year-old court ruling, Nehmer v. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA must review claims previously filed for these diseases and make payments retroactive to the claim date, or to the date of the Nehmer ruling, Sept. 25, 1985, whichever is later.

The 93,000 veterans and survivors so far identified as having filed a claim for one of these diseases don’t need to file another, said Pamperin. “We are going to review those cases on our own…back to the earliest date they claimed that disability — but not earlier than Nehmer — and will award benefits from that date.”

Full Article at: With new ‘AO’ rule out, VA readies spigot of payments
By Tom Philpott
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: September 3, 2010

“The Department of Veterans Affairs published its final regulation Aug. 31 for compensating Vietnam veterans with ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease or B-cell leukemia, or their surviving spouses.

Veterans diagnosed with these diseases only will have to show they stepped foot in Vietnam sometime from Jan. 9, 1962 through May 7, 1975, to qualify for service-connected disability ratings and compensation.”

“RETROACTIVE PAY – Because of a 25-year-old court ruling, Nehmer v. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA must review claims previously filed for these diseases and make payments retroactive to the claim date, or to the date of the Nehmer ruling, Sept. 25, 1985, whichever is later.

The 93,000 veterans and survivors so far identified as having filed a claim for one of these diseases don’t need to file another, said Pamperin. “We are going to review those cases on our own…back to the earliest date they claimed that disability — but not earlier than Nehmer — and will award benefits from that date.”

If the veteran is deceased, VA will award back pay to the surviving spouse. If no surviving spouse is found, the National Veterans Legal Services Program, which litigated the Nehmer decision, will help to identify someone else who might be eligible for the benefits.

Besides disability pay, back payments could include Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for the widow, enhanced burial benefits if a veteran’s death was due to a service-connected condition, and 36-months of education benefit to a spouse or a child, no matter what age the child is today, if the veteran was 100-percent disabled at time of death.

If veterans or survivors are worried the VA will not identified them as eligible for retroactive payments, they can file a new claim, Pamperin said.

“We are doing a data run against our corporate record, and some of these corporate records are limited to six diagnostic codes. So we’ve done the best we can with the resources we have to identify people,” he said.

Diana Rubens said 1000 staffers at 13 regional officers, including 326 specially-trained rating specialists, are working only on Nehmer claims, which can involve complex calculations and long searches for next of kin.

RECENT CLAIMS – 60,000 veterans and survivors who have filed claims for the three diseases since last October also will receive Nehmer protection in that payment will be made back to the date of the claim.

Every VA service center and regional office is working to develop and process these claims for payment sometime after Oct. 30.

“Our goal is to spend the next couple of months setting up as many claims as possible for payments as quickly as possible,” Rubens said.

FUTURE CLAIMS – If veterans or survivors planning to submit a new Agent Orange claim can show they had one of these diseases diagnosed on or before Aug. 31 this year, and if they file their claim before Aug. 30, 2011, it will be payable back to Aug. 31, 2010, the date the regulation took effect. Otherwise, payment date will be the date an approved claim was filed.

Pamperin advises veterans to gather medical records from private doctors so VA won’t need to schedule new exams to confirm their diseases.

On Sept 17, 2010, the Missing in America Project will inter our first Civil War Veteran. John W. Kling and his wife Elizabeth (Lizzie) was located and identified through the efforts of the Missing in America Project and the Newcomers Funeral Homes of Kansas City, MO.
PVT Kling was born in 1837 and on Nov 4, 1861 at the age of 23, joined the Union Army. PVT Kling served in E Company of the 2nd (old) Regiment Artillery Volunteers of Missouri. PVT Kling was honorably mustered out of the Union Army on 24 Aug 1863. After the war, John met and married his life long companion Elizabeth in 1870. John died in 1918 followed a few years later by Elizabeth in 1923.
The funeral service will be held at the Jacksonville VA Cemetery (North of Moberly) in Jacksonville, MO. Civil War soldiers in full dress Civil War uniforms will provide the honors for this long lost heroe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Andrew White returned from a nine-month tour in Iraq beset with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder: insomnia, nightmares, constant restlessness. Doctors tried to ease his symptoms using three psychiatric drugs, including a potent anti-psychotic called Seroquel.

Thousands of soldiers suffering from PTSD have received the same medication over the last nine years, helping to make Seroquel one of the Veteran Affairs Department’s top drug expenditures and the No. 5 best-selling drug in the nation.

Several soldiers and veterans have died while taking the pills, raising concerns among some military families that the government is not being up front about the drug’s risks. They want Congress to investigate.

In White’s case, the nightmares persisted. So doctors recommended progressively larger doses of Seroquel. At one point, the 23-year-old Marine corporal was prescribed more than 1,600 milligrams per day — more than double the maximum dose recommended for schizophrenia patients.

A short time later, White died in his sleep.

“He was told if he had trouble sleeping he could take another (Seroquel) pill,” said his father, Stan White, a retired high school principal.

An investigation by the Veterans Affairs Department concluded that White died from a rare drug interaction. He was also taking an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety pill, as well as a painkiller for which he did not have a prescription. Inspectors concluded he received the “standard of care” for his condition.

It’s unclear how many soldiers have died while taking Seroquel, or if the drug definitely contributed to the deaths. White has confirmed at least a half-dozen deaths among soldiers on Seroquel, and he believes there may be many others.

Spending for Seroquel by the government’s military medical systems has increased more than sevenfold since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. That by far outpaces the growth in personnel who have gone through the system in that time.

Seroquel is approved to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, but it has not been endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for insomnia. However, psychiatrists are permitted to prescribe approved drugs for other uses in a common practice known as “off-label” prescribing.

But the drug’s potential side effects, including diabetes, weight gain and uncontrollable muscle spasms, have resulted in thousands of lawsuits. While on Seroquel, White gained 40 pounds and experienced slurred speech, disorientation and tremors — all known side effects.

Last year, researchers at Vanderbilt University published a study suggesting a new risk: sudden heart failure.

The study in the January 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine found that there were three cardiac deaths per year for every 1,000 patients taking anti-psychotic drugs like Seroquel. Seroquel’s unique sedative effect sets it apart from others in its class as the top choice for treating insomnia and anxiety.

AstraZeneca PLC, maker of the drug, said it is reviewing the study. The FDA is conducting its own review, citing the limited scope of the Vanderbilt study.

According to the Veterans Affairs Department, Seroquel is only prescribed as a third or fourth option for patients with difficult-to-treat insomnia stemming from PTSD.

Marine Cpl. Chad Oligschlaeger, 21, was being treated for PTSD when he died in his sleep at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in May 2008. Oligschlaeger was taking six types of medication, including Seroquel, to deal with anxiety and nightmares that followed two tours of duty in Iraq.

The military medical examiner attributed the death to “multiple drug toxicity,” indicating that Oligschlaeger, too, died from a drug interaction. Because of the complex reactions between various drugs, medical examiners do not attribute such deaths to any one medication.

After consulting with physicians, parents Eric and Julie Oligschlaeger now believe their son died of sudden cardiac arrest caused by Seroquel.

“Right now, I’m so angry, and I believe someone needs to be held accountable,” said Julie Oligschlaeger, of Austin, Texas. “The protocol absolutely has to change.”

The Defense Department’s deputy director for force health protection, Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, said the government has not seen any increase in dangerous side effects from Seroquel and other drugs.

Physicians interviewed by the AP said they began prescribing Seroquel because it was the only drug that offered relief from the nightmares and anxiety of PTSD.

“By accident, some people were giving them Seroquel for anxiety or depression, and the veterans said, ‘This is the first time I have slept six or seven hours straight all night. Please give me more of that.’ And the word spread,” said Dr. Henry Nasrallah of the University of Cincinnati, who has treated PTSD patients for more than 25 years.

Most of the soldiers and veterans seeking treatment for PTSD do so at hospitals run by the VA or the Defense Department.

The VA’s spending on Seroquel has increased more than 770 percent since 2001. In that same time frame, the number of patients covered by the VA increased just 34 percent.

Seroquel has been the VA’s second-biggest prescription drug expenditure since 2007, behind the blood-thinner Plavix. The agency spent $125.4 million last fiscal year on Seroquel, up from $14.4 million in 2001.

Spending on Seroquel by the Department of Defense, has increased nearly 700 percent since 2001, to $8.6 million last year, according to purchase records.

Nasrallah and others said they use drugs like Seroquel off-label because so few treatments are approved for PTSD. The FDA has only cleared two drugs for the condition, the antidepressants Paxil and Zoloft, and they do not always work.

The only published study on use of Seroquel for PTSD-related insomnia involved just 20 patients who were followed for six weeks at a VA medical center in South Carolina. The study, which showed moderate improvement in sleep, was funded by AstraZeneca at the request of VA psychiatrist Dr. Mark Hamner, who has studied the use of Seroquel for PTSD.

In his written conclusion, published in 2003, Hamner urged caution in interpreting the results because of the study’s small size and short duration.

Hamner is working on larger, federally funded studies of Seroquel. For now, he acknowledges, there is little published research on the use of the drug for PTSD.

“Clinical judgment is really the best we can use at this time because there isn’t really a good database to facilitate decision-making,” said Hamner, who works at the Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center in Charleston, S.C.

He stressed that VA guidelines require doctors to monitor patients for dangerous side effects with drugs like Seroquel.

The drug, approved in 1997, is AstraZeneca’s second-best-selling product, with U.S. sales of $4.2 billion last year. But that success has been marred by allegations that the company illegally marketed the drug and minimized its risks. AstraZeneca agreed to pay $520 million in April to settle federal allegations that its salespeople pitched Seroquel for numerous off-label uses, including insomnia.

Pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from marketing drugs for unapproved uses. AstraZeneca also faces an estimated 10,000 product liability lawsuits, most alleging that Seroquel caused diabetes.

Since White died, his family has been searching for an explanation — and for a way to prevent other deaths.

“We trusted the knowledge of the physicians, that they weren’t going to do any harm,” White’s father said. “And we also trusted the drug companies because that’s who provides the research for the physicians. That’s what our battle is now: trying to get changes made.”

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Since 1889, the Legislature has supported the designation of a military veteran to be responsible for the disposition of the remains of indigent veterans or their widows. Accordingly, the Legislature established a procedure whereby the local county board of supervisors could designate a recipient for the purpose of proper remains disposition.
The new code establishes procedures whereby all (not just indigent) unclaimed remains of veterans and veterans’ dependents could be identified and designated to a veterans’ remains organization (VRO) for proper burial.

• County Veterans Advocate position as stated since 1889 is given new duties in regards to unclaimed veterans. (Ensure appointment is in place or request new appointee). Appointee must:

1. Verify veteran or dependent status for all unclaimed remains with the County Coroner (submit eligibility paperwork to National Cemetery Scheduling & Verification Office (NCSEO))

2. Verify that a Veterans Remains Organization (VRO) is valid in every County and respond such to all requests from requesting individuals.(i.e. Funeral Homes, cemetery authorities, government agencies) as specified in the new code. This verifies that the personnel asking for the State/VA required information in Shasta County has the authority to receive the information and take possession of remains as may be required for funeral escort and burial purposes.)

3. Authorize read only access to County Vital Statistics Death Certificate database and authority to contact VA Regional Benefits 800 number as county representative to obtain verification of veteran/dependent status and other relevant files to unclaimed veteran/dependent status as outlined in the new Veterans & Military Code.

4. Investigate and validate to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors the indigent/unclaimed veteran status and validity of claims for payment of the $300.00 State Funds to a family, funeral home or cemetery.

5. Validate dependent eligibility for free burial in State or VA Cemetery and eligibility for waiver of $500.00 spouse or dependent fee in CA State VA cemeteries.

6. Complete burial and headstone details and sign for interment details at State or VA Cemetery. (Burials from Shasta County can be at Eagle Point VA Cemetery, Sacramento Valley VA Cemetery or Northern California Veterans Cemetery or coordinated nationwide.

7. Enter into the Veterans Remains Organization (VRO) database all information obtained in the above actions to include burial location

• County Public Administrator duties must adjusted to accommodate new requirements. (Define the duties for veterans/non-veterans requirements and who is responsible)

An advocacy group working on behalf of Vietnam veterans has asked a federal judge in California to sanction the CIA, saying the spy agency has been blocking efforts to uncover its role in alleged experiments on US soldiers from the 1950s to 1970s.

The Vietnam Veterans of America filed a lawsuit on behalf of six Vietnam War veterans in January, 2009, claiming that the CIA had used an estimated 7,800 US service members as “guinea pigs” in experiments involving “at least 250, but as many as 400 chemical and biological agents,” according to Courthouse News.

Among the chemicals the lawsuit alleges were used on the soldiers were LSD, sarin and phosgene nerve gases, cyanide, PCP and even THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
The lawsuit described it as a “vast program of human experimentation” that was “shrouded in secrecy” and carried out without the informed consent of the experiment subjects.
“In 1970, [the CIA] provided Congress with an alphabetical list showing that they had tested 145 drugs during Projects Bluebird, Artichoke, MKULTRA and MKDELTA,” the lawsuit stated, as quoted at Courthouse News.

As the defendant in the suit, the CIA is obliged, by judge’s orders, to hand over data relevant to the lawsuit. But the VVA has asked a judge to sanction the CIA, saying the agency has ignored or blocked its requests for information, and has released only a small portion of the relevant documents.
The VVA’s first attempts to obtain CIA data on the experiments “have been pending for over a year, during which time [the CIA] have attempted to sidestep their discovery obligations at every turn, withholding (or even refusing to search for) large volumes of relevant, responsive documents [and] refusing to provide … witnesses to testify about their document searches and certain substantive topics,” the motion (PDF), filed in a California federal court this week, states.

The VVA says the CIA had refused to use “a routine protective order” that would restrict any sensitive CIA data to within the courtroom, and instead blacked out large parts of relevant documents. The plaintiffs say the CIA refused to provide the names of the test subjects involved, allowing only the names of the six defendants who filed the lawsuit.

“Even more unbelievably, it appears that defendants have yet to search even the most obvious location for documents — Edgewood Arsenal itself,” the motion states, referring to the location northeast of Baltimore where the experiments are said to have been carried out.
The motion states the CIA “served no responses or objections whatsoever” to the VVA’s second and third requests for information.

The motion asks that the judge, in addition to sanctioning the CIA, also order the CIA to pay the VVA’s costs associated with its attempts to obtain CIA information.
Judge James Larson of the US District Court in northern California will begin hearing arguments in the case on Sept. 29.

The VVA describes itself as “the only national Vietnam veterans organization congressionally chartered and exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era veterans and their families.”

A 2003 report (PDF) from the Department of Veterans Affairs states that “between 1950 and 1975, about 6,720 soldiers took part in experiments involving exposures to 254 different chemicals, conducted at US Army Laboratories at Edgewood Arsenal, MD. Congressional hearings into these experiments in 1974 and 1975 resulted in disclosures, notification of subjects as to the nature of their chemical exposures, and ultimately to compensation for a few families of subjects who had died during the experiments

Assembly Bill 1644, authored by Assemblyman Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), passed out of the Legislature on August 9th and now awaits the Governor’s signature. The bill allows veterans organizations, such as the Missing in America Project, to go into mortuaries across California in order to locate and identify the unclaimed cremains (cremated remains) of forgotten veterans. Once the cremains have been officially identified, they are honorably interred at a veteran’s cemetery.

If a veteran dies but there is no next of kin to claim them, the cremains could sit on shelves indefinitely. Recently, a state hospital announced that 3,500 cremains were on their shelves waiting to be identified. These cremains span a period from the 1890’s to 1971 and it is estimated that close to 1,000 are veterans. It is also estimated that most medical examiners and coroners do not verify cremains for veteran’s status. AB 1644 allows credible veterans organizations to transport those cremains and give them the honorable burial they deserve.

Assemblyman Nielsen said, “AB 1644 will give honorable men and women an honorable interment and I am pleased the Legislature passed this important bill. Several veterans’ groups, such as the Missing in America Project, travel around the nation and throughout California searching for forgotten servicemen and women whose cremains sit on shelves. These organizations gather information, verify veteran status, and properly inter veterans or veteran-dependents with respect and dignity. I am proud to be joined by my Assembly and Senate colleagues in supporting the noble mission being carried out by these organizations.”

Since 2007, Fred Salanti’s Missing in America Project has traveled the nation looking for veterans of all wars. Salanti said, “I want to thank the Legislature for passing the bill; this legislation is a step closer to bridging the gap between the funeral homes and groups like ours. We can now work in congruent harmony and move forward to assure every veteran has a resting place with dignity and honor.” Salanti went on to emphasize his organization’s motto by saying, “It is the right thing to do.”

By MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune
Last update: August 20, 2010 – 6:16 PM

As the director of the national cemetery at Fort Snelling, Jim Gemmell makes this bold claim:

“Believe me, there is not one grave that’s improperly marked at Fort Snelling.”

That claim covers more than 200,000 graves spread over 350 acres just south of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. And it comes after it was revealed that between 4,900 and 6,600 graves may be unmarked or mislabeled on maps for Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

With redundancies built into marking maps, digitized electronic technology and strict polices from the Department of Veterans Affairs (not the Department of the Army, which runs Arlington), Fort Snelling could not fall victim to the kind of problems plaguing Arlington, one of the most revered burial sites in the nation, Gemmell said.

The news about Arlington has shined a light on veterans’ cemeteries. But less obvious is that various veterans cemeteries have used federal recovery act money to spruce up their places in the face of increasing demand. The VA has obligated about $50 million in recovery act funds for 391 projects at sites managed by the National Cemetery Administration.

Fort Snelling recently used over $660,000 in recovery act funding to replace some asphalt paving and to buy vehicles and equipment for maintenance. Fort Snelling is the third largest and fourth busiest of the 131 national cemeteries in this country. A full-time staff of 50 mows and trims the site every week. With an approved expansion of 100 acres, it is expected to reach capacity by 2050.

“Our population draws from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota,” Gemmell says. “With our outreach and community support, they’re just availing themselves of this site.”

The biggest trend in veteran burials? Cremation, with an almost 60 percent cremation rate. Families of Upper Midwest veterans who might be snowbirds down south in the winter when their loved one passes away can easily wait several months to schedule a burial back home.

Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434
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The decision involves the case of Xavier Alvarez of Pomona, Calif., a water district board member who said at a public meeting in 2007 that he was a retired Marine who received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration.

Alvarez was indicted in 2007. He pleaded guilty on condition that he be allowed to appeal on First Amendment grounds. He was sentenced under the Stolen Valor Act to more than 400 hours of community service at a veterans hospital and fined $5,000.

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with him in a 2-1 decision Tuesday, agreeing that the law was a violation of his free-speech rights. The majority said there’s no evidence that such lies harm anybody, and there’s no compelling reason for the government to ban such lies.

The dissenting justice insisted that the majority refused to follow clear Supreme Court precedent that false statements of fact are not entitled to First Amendment protection.

The act revised and toughened a law that forbids anyone to wear a military medal that wasn’t earned. The measure sailed through Congress in late 2006, receiving unanimous approval in the Senate.

Dozens of people have been arrested under the law at a time when veterans coming home from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are being embraced as heroes. Many of the cases involve men who simply got caught living a lie without profiting from it. Almost all the impostors have been ordered to perform community service.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said it was deciding whether to appeal Tuesday’s ruling.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Aug. 11–With arms outstretched, a look of apprehension on their faces, the two boys received a Native American blessing as a silenced crowd of at least 50 people watched.

“Indian Pete” Vandekoolwyk kneeled in front of 6-year-old Malachi Villalba, 6, and Landon Touvell, 7, using ritual smoke as he quietly chanted in a language few, if any, could comprehend.

He then stood and with arms stretched to the sky called upon the Great Spirit to care for and bless the boys, each suffering from potentially life-threatening ailments.

Not your average Saturday morning in the parking lot of Petro’s Truck Stop in Corning.

Petro’s was the starting point of a convoy consisting of police cars, motorcycles, a fire engine, several Walmart big rigs and most importantly, Touvell and Villalba.

Touvell, the son of Titus and Christina Touvell, is fighting leukemia, and Villalba, the son of Marcos and Alicia Villalba, who has undergone six surgeries due to a congenital heart defect, were the recipients of the Walmart Heart truck drivers program, which strives to fulfill the wishes of chronically ill children all over the country. Currently the program includes more than 100 drivers who have reached out to thousands of individuals.

Vandekoolwyk’s blessing was just one of many events that on Saturday brought some extra happiness and smiles to Landon and Villalba.

To the surprise of both boys, the day started with them being picked up — Landon from his Capay home on a wolf and bear skin-covered motorcycle driven by “Indian Dave” Woodcock, and Villalba from his home in Corning on a Corning fire engine driven by volunteer firefighter Dave Demo.

“We have been talking about today for a month,” said Alicia Villalba. “But it was a real surprise to him to be picked up right there are home.”

Landon, a little overwhelmed by all he attention, said the experience was “cool.”

“He isn’t feeling very well today because of his chemotherapy treatments,” said Christine Touvell. “Landon thought we were just going to a fundraiser, but this is all so unbelievable. Everyone involved has made us feel so honored.”

Roxanne Maddox, Walmart driver coordinator, said, “People don’t realize all the good that the Walmart drivers do.”

After the Indian blessing, Touvell got back on the motorcycle and Villalba in the fire engine and the convoy traveled to the Walmart Distribution Center on Highway 99W.

“I wouldn’t have missed this,” said leader-of-the-pack, Corning police Officer James Dodge, driving a patrol vehicle with emergency lights flashing.

In between were a dozen Missing In America Project motorcycles and drivers, right in the middle the Corning fire engine, followed by Walmart trucks, vehicles filled with family and friends, and bringing up the rear was a police vehicle driven by Corning police Chief Tony Cardenas.

Riding in one of the family vehicles was Touvell’s grandfather, Tim Osborn, a retired sergeant with the Corning Police Department.

A barbecue fundraiser was held at the distribution center to help the two families with the financial burdens that come with fighting their sons’ illnesses. Each family received a check for $500, and additional funds from Missing in America and other groups.

“All of the meat was donated by one of the Walmart drivers,” Maddox said. “He doesn’t want to share his name because it isn’t about him, it’s about he boys and their families.”

The boys also took a ride to the Walmart store in Red Bluff, and received gifts and toys finishing off a day they will never forget.

—–

JEFFERSON CITY ? The Missouri Veterans Commission is encouraging Missouri?s funeral homes to take advantage of a new law protecting funeral homes in interring the unclaimed remains of veterans. House Bill 111, signed into law last year by Governor Jay Nixon, provides immunity to funeral homes from any suit for negligence related to the handling or interment of unclaimed veterans remains if they follow prescribed statutory steps. Once the steps have been completed, the funeral home can turn the remains over to a veterans service organization for burial in a veterans cemetery. The statute is RSMO 194.360.

Under this law in 2010, the remains of a World War I veteran from St. Louis, unclaimed since his death in 1928, were laid to rest in May and 16 veterans and two veteran?s spouses from Kansas City, unclaimed after their deaths between 1964 and 2008 were laid to rest in June.

?Our veterans of the United States military are true heroes who have committed their lives to serving the country they love and the American people,? Gov. Jay Nixon said. ?I was proud to sign HB 111 last year, as it ensures the remains of every Missouri veteran will be treated with the utmost respect and given a final resting place worthy of his or her great sacrifice. I hope all our funeral homes will honor the memories of our veterans through their participation.?

Rich Carroll, location manager for McGilley & Sheil Funeral Services in Kansas City said, ?I would hope that every funeral home would find the time to research and locate these forgotten heroes. No matter the circumstance that befell them and relegated them to obscurity, it no longer has to be that way.?

Funeral homes that do not have the manpower to research the names of their unclaimed remains for veteran status can request the assistance of the Missing in America Project (MIAP). MIAP is a national organization that locates and identifies the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans.

?We owe our veterans dignity, respect, and honor both in life and in death,? said Larry Kay, Executive Director of the Missouri Veterans Commission, ?I encourage all funeral homes who think they might have the remains of unclaimed veterans to contact their local veterans service organizations, the Missing in America Project, or the Missouri Veterans Commission to start the process of ensuring our heroes are not forgotten.?

For more information on the Missing in America Project go to www.miap.us, or contact Linda Smith, National Operations Coordinator at sailormom@miap.us or (573) 528-6930.

The Missouri Veterans Commission operates seven State Veterans Homes, six State Veterans Cemeteries, and the Veterans Services Program. The Commission is committed to honoring and serving Missouri?s Veterans whose dedication and sacrifices have preserved our nation and its freedoms. For more information about the Missouri Veterans Commission programs, call 573-751-3779 or access the Missouri Veterans Commission webpage at www.mvc.dps.mo.gov.