County conducts first ceremony in new program to honor homeless veterans
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When they died, they may not have had a home.
But at their funeral, they did have a family.
Photo Gallery: Dignity Memorial Veterans Burial Funeral
Under a clear blue sky Tuesday, more than 100 community members, local dignitaries and veterans paid their respects to 10 homeless veterans at Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora.
Dogtags handed out at the event listed the names of the men. At the bottom was the statement "We are their family."
"None of us actually know those being buried today, but there should be no difference in respecting these men, who have given their service to
Pallbeares carry the coffins of 10 United States Veterans, during the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Funeral Service, at the Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora, Calif., Tuesday, November 10, 2009. (Correspondent photo by James Carbone/SVCITY) their country, than anyone else," said keynote speaker Bob Archuleta, Los Angeles County commissioner of Veteran Affairs.
The ceremony was the first in Los Angeles County as part of Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans' Burial program, which has ensured services for 500 homeless veterans across the country.
Today, there are more than 23 million veterans in the United States.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 131,000 veterans in the United States are homeless on any given night, and 45 percent of them suffer from mental illnesses.
"A lot of veterans pass away and are buried in paupers' graves without receiving military honors," said Dignity Memorial spokeswoman Lisa Marshall. "We thought that's not a good way to treat people who served for our country."
Two more homeless veterans will be buried by the end of the week, she said.
To Archuleta, a veteran and Pico Rivera mayor pro tem, the flag-draped caskets lined in front of the podium in which he was speaking were not merely containers for the military men inside.
"There are 10 caskets here today," Archuleta said with a strong, passionate voice. "Do not forget these are symbolic and representative of all the homeless veterans in this country, and it is important you understand that. We cannot reach out to everyone, but today Dignity Memorial has made a difference in our lives and in the lives of our veterans."
His own son, 25-year-old Brandon Archuleta, is in the military and will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.
As he spoke about him, Archuleta's voice began to waver.
"I drop my head once again because he's got to go back to Afghanistan," he said. "But it's not just my son. It's all those who send their loved ones off to war. Where do we get such great individuals to continue serving this country?"
A local veteran who heads the committee for Diamond Bar's Veterans Day ceremony said the significance
Chaplain, Colonel Norman L. Williams, ANG (ret) officiates the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Funeral Service, at the Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora, Calif., Tuesday, November 10, 2009. is important for all who made the sacrifice.
"We were asked to do something," said 89-year-old Joseph Piper, who was drafted into the Army during World War II and did not attend Tuesday's event. "We were asked to defend our country. We did."
Following the service, the 10 caskets were escorted by the motorcyclists of the Patriot Guard Riders to Riverside National Cemetery, where they were buried with full military honors.
Men and women wiped tears from their faces as ushers carried the caskets out one by one.
Those from the California State Guard stood in salute, and bagpipes played in the background.
"As we gather today, we honor brave men who stood in the line of defense between us and the enemies," state Sen. Bob Huff, R-Walnut, said at the ceremony. "(Veterans Day) should not be lost. It should not morph into something about linen sales or TV marathons."
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