Veterans remembered at special ceremony at Fort Leavenworth cemetery

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas - Tuesday’s proceedings at Fort Leavenworth cemetery were very rare and long overdue.

Fourteen veterans and three of their wives were laid to rest. What made the ceremony unusual is the remains of those buried had been unclaimed for years.

Among those honored, Civil war veteran Pvt. George McCarthy, who died in 1946. His ashes sat in a storage facility for more than 60 years. His remains and the rest of the veterans remembered Tuesday were discovered by Linda Smith with the Missing in America Project.

She said she was very pleased when she identified McCarthy.

“There is several more out there in the same group that I’m working to inter,” said Smith.

Smith said her group has helped locate and bury the remains of about 1,000 veterans.

As veterans paid their final tribute to their fallen comrades, Betty Wright with the group Gold Star Mothers, a group that helps veterans, reflected on the day she buried her own son.

“It’s very emotional even 20 years later to hear the honors to see the flag folded to just be a part of the service again,” Wright said.

And giving a proper burial to deserving veterans was an honor for everyone in the hallowed place.