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Missing in America Project sends off soldier remains

Posted: Jul 2, 2012 7:52 PM by Dax VanFossen - KAJ News
Updated: Jul 3, 2012 9:06 AM


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KALISPELL- Veterans from all over Montana will join in a caravan of motorcycles as the the Missing in America Project takes the remains of several veterans to a final resting place at Fort Harrison in Helena later this month.

The remains of a few of those deceased Veterans have been sitting on a shelf for nearly 70 years. Kalispell Missing in America Project ride leader Stephen Douglas showed the containers holding remains of cremated soldiers.

"And some of those remains belong to soldiers from World War II, and they still haven't been placed to rest. But the Missing in America Project is trying to finally honor these soldiers," Douglas said.

Some of the veterans' remains weren't claimed by relatives when returned to the United States. By law, funeral homes had to keep the ashes, but they had no resources to get them released and get them buried.

Douglass will lead the motorcycle brigade from Kalispell to Butte on July 13th, where they will meet up with fellow veterans from Eastern Montana. The procession will then travel to Helena to lay the ashes to rest.

"When I first found out about it, I couldn't believe that these men and women had just been forgotten and left on a shelf," Douglas said. He said some of the ashes date from World War II, Vietnam and Korea.

Douglas said his group doesn't need money, but they hope for support during the trip. The remains of eight veterans, one from Columbia Falls, two from Billings, and four from Kalispell, will finally be honored and buried.

The Kalispell Missing in America ride will depart from the White Oak Hotel in Somers at 6:30 a.m. on July 13. Click here to learn more about the Missing in America Project.

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