Fifteen veterans will receive a full military funeral after their remains are found in storage at the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. Unclaimed remains found: Watch Westmoreland County report in video player above15 veterans were among a group of 57 unclaimed bodies that Coroner Tim Carson said he found took over in January. Carson said at a news conference Wednesday that he spoke with other coroners in the state and learned that it was not unusual for the coroner’s office to store unclaimed remains, but decided he wanted to do something about it. The identity of the remains was always known, but no family member came forward to claim them. Carson said he shared the name with a veterans group in Arizona called the Missing in America Project and discovered that the remains of 15 individuals were American veterans dating back to the United States. for World War II. In some cases, Carson said the remains remained in county possession until 1993. “I thought it was a disgrace to all of our veterans who served for them to be in one, one room. box, on the floor,” Carson said. Local veterans groups and the Pantalone Funeral Home in Greensburg have partnered with the coroner’s office to ensure that veterans receive a proper military funeral. A memorial service at the Scottdale War Memorial 15 is scheduled for July at 10 a.m. The veterans will then be taken to the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies for a full military funeral at 1 p.m. The county coroner’s office shared the full list of unclaimed remains on its website.
Fifteen veterans will receive a full military funeral after their remains are found in storage at the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office.
Unclaimed remains found: Watch Westmoreland County report in the video player above
The 15 veterans were among a group of 57 unclaimed cremations that Coroner Tim Carson said he discovered after taking office in January.
Carson said at a news conference Wednesday that he spoke with other coroners in the state and learned that it was not unusual for the coroner’s office to store unclaimed remains, but decided he wanted to do something about it. The identity of the remains was always known, but no family member came forward to claim them.
Carson said he shared the name with a veterans group in Arizona called the Missing in America Project and discovered that the remains of 15 individuals were American veterans from before World War II.
In some cases, Carson said the remains have been in county possession since 1993.
“I felt it was a disgrace to all of our veterans who served just for them to be in a room, in a box, on the floor,” Carson said.
Local veterans groups and the Pantalone Funeral Home in Greensburg have partnered with the coroner’s office to ensure that veterans receive a proper military funeral. A memorial service at the Scottdale War Memorial is scheduled for July 15 at 10 a.m.
County Coroner’s Office Shared Full list of unclaimed remains on their website,