6 unclaimed Veterans laid to rest at Fort Jackson National Cemetery

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Fort Jackson National Cemetery held a funeral service for six unclaimed Veterans Friday morning.

Service members and Veterans from the Air Force, American Legion, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy came together for the ceremony.

SGT Bruce Trimnal, SPC Frankie Phillips, PFC Ronald Vogel, HM3 Robert Jones, LCPL Robert Clymore, and PVT Max McEvers were laid to rest.

Retired PFC and WWII Veteran Gerald White says he hopes everyone is proud of the service the six soldiers gave for America.

“When you stand up there and give your all for this country, that means a lot. I wave my flag very high,” says White.

Retired CSM Larry Melton served in the Army for 30 years.

“We recognize the value of our Veterans and what they have done in order to protect the freedom of our nation. And it’s a show of respect for those individuals who were unidentified and unclaimed Veterans, and this is our way of showing them that we appreciate them and they are not forgotten,” Melton.

Retired Navy Veteran Buddy Burke served for four years and is now an Area Coordinator for a group called “Veterans Last Patrol” that honors Veterans in hospice care.

“We have to honor these guys no matter when they served, where they served, or how they served. All of them served honorably. And they deserve this. They deserve to be recognized, because the sacrifices they made while they were in the active service is why we’re such a free country today,” says Burke.

According to a representative, of the over 9,000 soldiers buried at Fort Jackson National Cemetery over 100 soldiers were considered unclaimed.