Movement to give dead vets respect gains momentum

Jace Radke

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

Vietnam veteran Dave Anson is continuing his work to ensure that homeless and abandoned veterans are buried with the ceremony and respect they deserve, but now he is getting a lot more help.

The Clark County Coroner's Office and officials with the Southern Nevada Veterans Cemetery in Boulder City are working with Anson and other veterans organizations to try to ensure that ceremonies, including flag folding and the playing of "Taps" take place at the burials of all veterans.

"Things have gotten a lot easier for me since I started doing this in January," said Anson, who took it upon himself to make sure that veterans with no family or friends received an honorable burial after a homeless friend of his passed away. "It would take me at least four hours to track down a homeless veteran and make the arrangements, but now it has been streamlined and I just make a few phone calls."

On Tuesday, four veterans were buried at the veterans cemetery, each receiving a flag ceremony and a service from Anson's fellow Vietnam Veterans of America member, Pastor Garry Steinman.

Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said he is happy to work with the veterans cemetery and Anson to ensure that dead veterans are buried in Boulder City and don't slip through the cracks to be buried at other cemeteries without military honors.

"Our investigators have a three-page checklist they go through when we're making identifications," Murphy said. "We've added a database of veterans to that checklist, and I've made sure that everyone knows that determining if someone is a veteran is a priority."

Calls from the coroner, Clark County Social Services and the veteran's cemetery to Anson resulted in the four burials Tuesday.

Veterans Cemetery Superintendent Jack Porrino said that he would like to see all veterans receive services when they are buried, but often ceremonies and services are not provided unless there is a family member who requests it. Veterans are only promised cemetery plots and headstones by the federal government.

Porrino has scheduled a meeting for July 23 to discuss services for indigent veterans and to bring in other veterans organizations to help Anson with services and ceremonies. The meeting also will provide a chance for Anson to discuss the possibility of erecting a monument to the forgotten veterans who have no family or friends to mark their passing.

"It would be some kind of wall of honor for forgotten heroes, so that they would be forgotten no longer," Anson said.

At Tuesday's burial members of American Legion Post 8 were present, and the Women Veterans of Nevada have attended past ceremonies. Also in attendance during Tuesday's services was Danny Burke, an Army veteran suffering from cancer, who contacted Anson because he wanted to make sure he received an honorable burial when the time comes.

"I wasn't aware that there were so many veterans who, like me, didn't have anyone to say goodbye to them when they died," Burke said. "They deserve someone here for that after the service they've given.

"I'm happy to be the one out here saying goodbye."