Dearborn To Honor Forgotten Veterans On Memorial Day

DEARBORN, MI — Two forgotten WWII veterans and one overlooked Korean War veteran will be laid to rest with military honors decades after passing away. The veterans will be honored and interred on Memorial Day, May 28, through the efforts of the Dearborn Allied War Veteran’s Council (DAWVC) and the Missing in America Project (MIAP).

The WWII veterans have not been interred, despite dying 36 and 37 years ago. The Korean War veteran will finally be interred after dying 18 years ago.

It is not known why these three were never interred. BUT, the DAWVC has actively sought out the cremains of veterans who die without resources, or who outlive family and friends, and remain in funeral homes awaiting their final resting place.

A funeral procession will begin at 9:40 a.m. on May 28 and will carry the cremated remains of the three veterans in a casket on a horse-drawn caisson down the Michigan Avenue parade route, which travels west from Maple Street to the Henry Ford Centennial Library.

Military service honors will be offered for the men during a Remembrance Ceremony at the Veterans Park and War Memorial in front of the library, 16301 Michigan Ave., at about noon following the parade.

The procession and ceremony bestow proper military honors on veterans who were indigent, homeless or outlived their family and friends at the time of their death and never were given a proper burial. Their cremated remains were not claimed and had been stored at Michigan funeral homes since the time of their deaths. They will be interred at Great Lakes National Cemetery.

The DAWVC sought out the cremated remains of veterans in need of burial as part of the Missing in America Project, a national effort that aims to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed remains of American veterans.

“The Missing In America Project, in cooperation with the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council and the City of Dearborn, is proud to assist in the long overdue funerals of our veterans,” said Stephen Fletcher, Michigan coordinator for the MIAP and a former DAWVC commander.

The WWII veterans who will be honored during the Memorial Day service are:

• Seaman Second Class Jesse S. Larson, U.S. Navy. He served in WWII from April 28, 1943 – Dec. 1, 1944. He was born on March 19, 1914, and died on Oct. 18, 1981.
• Seaman First Class Russell I. Pelton, U.S. Navy. He served in WWII from April 7, 1944 – Dec. 16, 1945. He was born on June 3, 1914, and died on Aug. 10, 1982.

The Korean War veteran who will be honored is:

• Airman First Class Chester J Hall, U.S. Air Force. He served in the Korean War from Dec. 30, 1950 – April 3, 1953. He was born on July 3, 1929, and died on Dec 25, 2000.

Also being laid to rest is Alice Shumway, the spouse of Sgt. Russell A. Shumway, who was a cavalryman in WWI. His remains were mourned in Dearborn’s 2014 Memorial Day Parade. His wife died on May 7, 1972. She will be laid to rest next to her husband in Great Lakes National Cemetery.

The funeral procession will be carried out with participation from the Detroit Mounted Police Division, Metro Detroit Police and Fire Pipes and Drums, The Henry Ford, Voran Funeral Home, and Matthysse Kuiper DeGraaf Funeral Home. The DAWVC Ritual Team and the U.S. Reserve Funeral Honors Team will conduct the military service honors.

The 2018 parade marks the 94th year the City of Dearborn has hosted its Memorial Day Parade in order to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.

Photo courtesy of the City of Dearborn

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