DES MOINES, Iowa — The bodies of 14 people — 12 veterans and two spouses with honors — were laid to rest at Iowa Veterans Cemetery in a Friday afternoon ceremony.
The unclaimed veterans and spouses were honored at Hamilton's Funeral & After Life Services with an 11:30 a.m. service before a disposition at the cemetery around 2 p.m.
"Today we proclaim that no veteran ever goes unclaimed. No veteran will sit on a shelf to collect dust," one speaker said. "Today I thank each and every one of you for standing. We are now the family of these veterans."
The circumstances surrounding the veterans and spouses' unclaimed title differ greatly, with remains abandoned in storage units, a couple whose urns were stored separately and a recently-deceased marine with no family among those honored Friday.
"The quickest way to change the world is to be of service to others, to show that your love can make a difference in the lives of people and thereby somebody else's love can make a difference in your life. By each of us doing that and working together, we can change the world one person at a time," another speaker said.
More than 20 different law enforcement agencies attended the ceremony.