Their Remains Long Unclaimed, These Veterans Will Get Military Burials

NEW HAVEN, CT — A military funeral ceremony for two New Haven veterans, whose cremated remains were never claimed, will be held Friday at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown.

PFC Robert Benson, U.S. Marine Corps serving 1951-53, was born April 9, 1931 and died Aug. 19, 2008, in New Haven.

CPL Loren Milton Cubbison, Jr., U.S. Army serving 1953-55, was born Nov. 4, 1932 and died Feb. 7, 2021, in New Haven.

Two other unclaimed soldiers, both of Bridgeport, will also be buried and so honored.

The military funerals are being held by the state Department of Veterans Affairs and the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association, Inc.

The public is invited to attend the 10:30 a.m. rain-or-shine ceremony at the State Veterans Cemetery, 317 Bow Lane, in Middletown.

DVA Commissioner Thomas J. Saadi will lead the ceremony, which will be supported by the directors of a number of funeral homes from across the state, the Connecticut National Guard, and the Connecticut Patriot Guard Riders.

Also in attendance will be state, local, and federal officials, and leaders of many veterans organizations.

Saadi, CFDA president David W. MacDonald, and other dignitaries will deliver remarks during the ceremony that will include the posthumous presentation of Connecticut Wartime Service Medals.

At 9:40 a.m., Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Patriot Guard Riders will escort the CFDA hearses containing the cremains from the DVA Rocky Hill Campus to the Veterans Cemetery.

The veterans to be honored from Bridgeport are:·

CPT David L. Groher, U.S. Army serving 1943-46, May 9,1919-November 14, 2008, died in Bridgeport

RD3 Morris Meyer, U.S. Navy serving 1944-46, was born Jan. 11, 1914 and died July 19, 2004, in Bridgeport, and his civilian wife Cornelia Meyer, who as born Aug. 13, 1918 and died March 24, 2003.

This is the eighth such ceremony hosted by the state and funeral directors since 2009 when Connecticut established new protocols to identify unclaimed cremated remains of honorably discharged U.S. veterans in Connecticut funeral homes with the goal of providing them a dignified burial with full military honors.