VAN METER, Iowa — Hamilton's Funeral Home laid the remains of 20 unclaimed veterans and five veterans spouses to rest on Friday at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel.
In the past six years, 70 unclaimed veterans and their spouses have been laid to rest. Friday's ceremony was the first time all five military branches were honored and remembered.
Unclaimed veterans are "veterans that when they died, they didn't have any family," explained Lanae Strovers, president of the nonprofit The Final Salute. "Some of these were found in storage units, found in abandoned cars, found in homes that have no longer been lived in."
Friday's event was an emotional one, as hundreds of Iowans, including Rep. Zach Nunn and Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew T. Strasser, came to show support for veterans who are now being claimed and given their final salute.
The time period when the veterans served ranged from the Civil War to the Vietnam War.
These unclaimed veterans also finally got their military honors, which included the playing of "Taps," the folding of the U.S. flag and the presentation of the flag.
"They are entitled to that," Strovers said. "So it is really important that we give them their final salute today."
The community came out to show that we honor those who served no matter how long they have been gone, and no matter how forgotten they may have seemed.
"Today we say, you are not forgotten," said one speaker.
The remains of veterans laid to rest Friday also included those who fought in WWI, WWII and the Korean War.