Military Honors for Homeless Vets... Posthumously

Published February 02, 2009 @ 07:47PM PT

Every night, hundreds of thousand of our nation's veterans sleep on sidewalks, in cars, and in shelters throughout the country for which they sacrificed. Many of these vets became homeless due to conditions caused or exacerbated by their military service.

Although Obama has pledged a "zero tolerance" policy for homelessness among veterans, his promise seems too little and too late for those who will go to sleep tonight without a roof over their head. Indeed, every day a homeless vet somewhere takes his or her last breath without a home, seemingly forgotten and uncared for by the country they served.

While many service-providers labor everyday to serve homeless veterans, one organization has taken on the noble task of properly honoring homeless veterans at the time of their death. Homeless Veterans Burial Programs arrange memorials and burials with full military honors for honorably discharged homeless veterans. To date, 540 homeless veterans have been buried with with full military honors through these programs, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Honoring homeless veterans posthumously is undoubtedly a sober task. Surely, all involved would prefer to have honored the deceased's service and the sacrifice by saving them from the streets.

Homeless Veterans Burial Programs do not exist everywhere... yet. To find out how you can get involved, click here.

Photo from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Taylor Milne, 9, is handed her father's flag during his funeral service. Taylor's father Marc Milne, a Coast Guard veteran, was buried along with Michael Ballard, a Navy Veteran, at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. They were given full military honors by the Homeless Veterans Burial Program."

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This is horrific and continues. It started with Vietnam, even some of the Korean. Many suffer battle stress psychosis, with overlay of severe drug addiction as escapism. I certainly hope the new focus on Veterans, helps.Of course, it is only here now simply because we continue to start new..and now unwinnable wars every generation. That also must stop.

Posted by Lee Dorsey on 02/03/2009 @ 01:32PM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.