Unclaimed Veterans Laid To Rest

During a short and dignified memorial service last week, nine military veterans and one spouse whose remains were unclaimed were laid to rest.

The Bucks County Coroner’s Office and the Chester County Coroner’s Office held the ceremony last Thursday at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Upper Makefield Township.

The ceremony made sure military veterans were laid to rest with honors if there is no family to claim them. The coroners’ offices worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as they prepared for the ceremony.

The public was invited along with veteran groups and an honor guard to remember the nine veterans and one of their spouses.

There was a rifle salute and Taps was performed during the ceremony.

The ceremony was the third that Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck has been in office for, she said.

At last week’s ceremony, Wayne Smith, a Vietnam War-era U.S. Marine Corps. veteran from Richland Township, was the only Bucks Countian interred in a columbarium.

Smith was considered unclaimed because no family came forward. His 97-year-old mother was suffering from dementia and unable to handle arranging for her son’s burial, according to Bucks and First Deputy Coroner Scott Croop.

Below is the list of the veterans interred:

• Marcellus Brown, U.S. Navy (Petty Officer First Class), (Post-World War II Era), from Tredyffrin Township in Chester County
• William P. Deignan, U.S. Navy (Seaman), (Post-Vietnam Era), from Valley Township in Chester County
• Jeffrey A. Fenstermacher, U.S. Army (Private), (Post-Vietnam Era), from Parkesburg Borough in Chester County
• Oliver C. Ford, U.S. Marine Corp. (Unknown Rank), (Vietnam Era), from Coatesville City in Chester County
• Gregory D. Jones, U.S. Navy (Seaman Recruit), (Persian Gulf War Era), from Coatesville City in Chester County
• Joseph H. Jones, U.S. Army (Private First Class), (Korean War Era), from West Chester Borough in Chester County
• John W. Marsh, U.S. Air Force (Airman), (Vietnam Era), from Honey Brook Township in Chester County
• Joan M. Marsh, Veteran Spouse, Wife of John W. Marsh (above), from Honey Brook Township in Chester County
• Hollis Ross, U.S. Naval Reserve (Seaman Apprentice), (Vietnam Era), from Caln Township in Chester County
• Wayne Smith, U.S. Marine Corps. (Lance Corporal), (Vietnam Era), from Richland Township in Bucks County

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