Bergen WWII Veteran, 100, Laid To Rest After Body Identified

PARAMUS, NJ — A World War II resident from Bergen County was laid to rest Tuesday with military honors at the George Washington Memorial Park Cemetery in Paramus.

Eugene Walker Dednam, who lived in Hackensack his whole life, died on April 5 at the age of 100 according to his obituary from Warner-Wozniak Funeral Service.

Dednam was an only child, and never married or had children. No one came to claim his body, so Bergen County medical examiners and Sheriff's Office employees looked for a living relative, as NorthJersey.com reported.

Dednam served in Europe during World War II with the 4043rd Quartermaster Truck Company: the Ardennes, Central Europe, Normandy, Northern France and Rome-Arno, according to his obituary. He worked at Macy's in New York City and loved fashion, and was also a big jazz fan, the obituary said.

"He loved fashion and was a sharp dresser," the obituary reads. "While working in the city he cultivated a passion for jazz which he shared with cousins and friends. In his later years he loved walking, gardening and tending to his backyard."

A medical examiner told NorthJersey.com's Megan Burrow that Dednam had pictures of his war unit and a framed certificate in his home, which helped them identify him as a veteran.

The report said that Dednam, in his will, asked to be buried next to his parents Porter and Cecelia Wright Dednam in Paramus.

A neighbor, Deshaune Hicks, told Burrow he'd lived next to Dednam for 10 years. Hicks said Dednam liked his independence and "reluctantly" accepted Hicks' help with things like yard work and getting groceries.

The Bergen County Veterans Services shared a photo from the funeral and said 40 veterans on motorcycles and a number of law enforcement vehicles escorted Dednam's body from the funeral home to the cemetery.

"It was a proper send off for this centenarian, who never married, had no living family close by, and laid unclaimed for several weeks," the post said. "Dednam’s service included six separate WWII campaigns, serving in a segregated African American unit as a truck driver responsible for transporting soldiers to the front lines. The United States government only desegregated the Armed Forced in 1948, three years after the conclusion of WWII. Despite this, Dednam was proud of his service and buried in his full military uniform in respect of his wishes."

"Thank you for your service Mr. Dednam, you are truly an American and Bergen County hero."