New Jersey's mission of honor
Veterans claim abandoned brothers and sisters in arms
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer
Until recently, New Jersey had a heartwrenching secret. The cremated remains of hundreds of American veterans lay abandoned, stored on shelves inside dusty cardboard boxes and canisters.

ERIC SUCAR staff Members of the Navy fold an American flag on behalf of seaman George F. Wells, one of the first abandoned veterans in New Jersey to be buried at the Gen. William C. Doyle Cemetery in Arneytown as a result of the Mission of Honor for Cremains of American Veterans.

Funeral homes and other establishments cannot simply discard the ashes of veterans that were never claimed by families or friends. So they have been keeping over 900 orphaned and abandoned veterans' cremains in storage for decades.

Veterans organizations across the state could no longer stand for the mistreatment of their brothers and sisters in arms. They organized a statewide effort called New Jersey's Mission of Honor for the Cremains of American Veterans to locate, identify and inter these cremains with the assistance of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Their efforts led Gov. Jon Corzine to sign a Mission of Honor bill into law on April 15 to bury the cremated remains of the veterans who have gone unclaimed in New Jersey.

ERIC SUCAR staff A military urn holding the cremains of an abandoned veteran is removed from a military truck after being escorted by motorcycle clubs from across to New Jersey from Lodi to the Gen. William C. Doyle Cemetery in Arneytown on May 15.

From funeral homes, hospitals, prisons, crematoriums, senior homes, veterans homes and mental institutions throughout the state, each veteran's cremains will be placed into a military urn, emblazoned with their seal of military service, and escorted to a proper burial at Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Cemetery in Arneytown, Burlington County, according to Wallace Noonan of Allentown.

Although the bill does not go into effect until July 5, 2009, the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 899 in Bordentown Township, who championed the Mission of Honor Bill, received permission to claim the first two abandoned veterans for internment prior to Memorial Day.

PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff Above: Richard Pinter, of the U.S. Army, performs taps during the burial ceremony for the cremated remains of the first two abandoned New Jersey veterans buried at the Gen. William C. Doyle Cemetery in Arneytown on May 15. Right: Military veterans pay their respects during the memorial service.

On May 15, the Mission of Honor accepted two World War II veterans' cremains at a funeral home in Lodi. They were placed into a military vehicle and escorted to the cemetery by the Bergen County Police, New Jersey State Police, and the honor guard of motorcycle clubs from all over New Jersey.

Approximately 300 people gathered for the first Mission of Honor memorial service. Veterans and their supporters paid respect, some holding American flags and others shedding tears while Chaplain Jerry Skorch reviewed the little information known about Joseph P. Glass and George P. Wells.

Glass was born in Passaic on Feb. 19, 1911, and joined the Army on April 8, 1942, in Newark. He served in World War II, rolling through Normandy to northern France and up into the Rheinland. He received the Combat Infantry Badge on Sept. 28, 1944, and an honorable discharge on Dec. 15, 1944.

Skorch said Glass was an American hero of the Greatest Generation, having survived the Great Depression only to help America and the Allied forces drive the Nazis back to their homeland and save Europe from continuing despair.

"The tech sergeant receives his due this very day and a final resting place here among other American heroes," Skorch said.

When the prayer ended, a 21-gun salute was fired, a bugler played taps, and members of the Army honor guards folded Glass'American flag and presented it to Assemblyman Jack Conners (D-7th District).

"I'm happy because a lot of veterans organizations and veterans have come together for this first of many veterans' cremains retrieved and brought here — those who went missing but are not missing anymore," Conners said.

Less information is known about Wells, who was born on May 21, 1915, and died on March 22, 1984, just a day before his 69th birthday.

"We don't know further details, but that doesn't matter here today," Skorch said. "He was part of the Greatest Generation, hearing the call of his country and joining the U.S. Navy on July 17, 1941, before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor."

Wells received his honorable discharge on Nov. 26, 1945.

"Although he was a seaman in rank, we honor him here today as a hero, as a sailor, as a patriot and as an American veteran," Skorch said.

Col. Stephen Abel, of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, accepted Wells' flag and paraphrased the Gen. George Patton quote that appears on the base of the World War II memorial in Trenton.

"Do not mourn those who have died fighting, but celebrate that such men and women lived in honor of their country," he said. "When we leave this cemetery, let us continue to celebrate their lives."

At the end of both services, a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" while veterans reviewed the two military urns in a procession.

Carol Ioannides of Metuchen attended the ceremony on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 233. She also serves as the Middlesex County coordinator for New Jersey's Mission of Honor.

"I'm here because we owe these people that fought for us and built this country up," she said. "They shouldn't be just left somewhere on a shelf."

Nellie Malet, of Sayreville, who also serves on the Middlesex County committee for the Mission of Honor, noted that the mission is being privately funded by hundreds of veterans and their supporters across the state and does not receive financial support from the government.

Skorch noted that this is just the beginning of showing proper respect to New Jersey's abandoned veterans and the beginning of justice.

"Let us go forth from this day and retrieve our brothers and sisters and give them their due," he said.

Mission of Honor Chairman Fran Carrasco said the project would have never been gotten had it not been for the legions of veterans who came together to support the effort.

"With you standing behind us, we will be able to go forward with this and inter a lot of cremains that should have been a long time ago," he said.

The Vietnam Veterans of America will provide a color guard and honor guard at each abandoned veteran's funeral, and each veteran will receive full military honors and a folded American flag in tribute to the man or woman who kept the faith in peace and war for the country.

Those who would like to make a donation can write a check payable to New Jersey Mission of Honor and mail to New Jersey Mission of Honor for the Cremains of American Veterans, P.O. Box 263, Bordentown, NJ 08505. Contributors are listed on the mission's website at www.njmissionofhonor. org.