“Sacred work”: DVS hosts luncheon celebrating our funeral honors partners
by Aquilla Hines, Communications, NYC Department of Veterans’ Services
On August 22, 2017, the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services honored our funeral partners for serving New York City’s most vulnerable veterans. Our funeral partners serve veterans they’ve never met — those who have passed away without family, community, or financial resources. Thanks to their dedication and service, our funeral honors partners give these veterans the dignified burials they have earned.
Military funeral honors are held in such high regard, they are protected by law. Deceased veterans who are eligible may have an honor guard detail and have a family member be presented with a ceremonial flag during the playing of Taps.
Veterans with no next of kin or financial resources, however, may not have anyone to arrange a dignified burial or receive this ceremonial flag. This is where DVS and our partners step up.
“Organizational Friends”: providing a dignified end
Our partners — who we call “Organizational Friends” — assist us at each stage of the burial and funeral processes. This includes City agencies; for instance, the Chief Medical Examiner identifies remains as military personnel; the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene prioritizes veterans cases and completes the paperwork so that internment can occur as soon as possible. This includes veteran service organizations (VSOs), who arrange for and attend funerals at a national cemetery. And this includes the funeral homes themselves, who hold services and make logistical arrangements.
Despite all of the help provided by our organizational friends, none of this work would happen without Ines Adan, Director for Human Services for DVS. Officially, Ines confirms veterans’ eligibility for military burial and coordinates with our funeral partners to ensure indigent veterans have a dignified funeral.
But unofficially, Ines works miracles. She goes above and beyond her call of duty, establishing relationships with other city agencies, with funeral homes, with cemeteries, and with VSOs to give those who’ve served our country the respect of a dignified send-off. At the luncheon, Ines remarked, “We are a family that personifies the Army ethos of ‘leave no one behind,’ either in combat or at home.”
“Sacred work”
This work is indeed sacred work. It was evident from those at the luncheon that those who serve indigent veterans do so with the utmost respect. This was especially apparent in the reverence and appreciation with which our funeral partners discussed their jobs.
Meg Calverton of National Cemetery said partnering with DVS is one of the best parts of her job, mostly because every veteran that comes into their cemetery is buried with a flag holder and military honors. “20 years ago,” she said, “that did not happen. (Indigent)veterans came in — literally — in plywood boxes. Plywood boxes.”
Today, our partners work tirelessly to ensure that never happens again. They’ve dedicated countless hours of their time and energy to preserving the legacy of our soldiers with dignity.
Many of our partners are veterans themselves. As such, they have profound respect for their brothers and sisters in arms. They reflected that this work is both personal and humbling. Herbert Sweat, former Chairman of the Board of Black Veterans for Social Justice, brought with him the first flag presented at the first funeral he worked. “This is how we care for it,” he told us, “Encased, not only in a casing, but in my soul.” He said, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
Making a difference
DVS’ Organizational Friends serve a significant population of veterans. Calverton National Cemetery, the largest national cemetery, contains over 100,000 occupied gravesites. By the end of this year, DVS will have assisted in more than 450 burials of indigent veterans. The 32nd Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America has alone has interred 117 indigent veterans. Michael O’Kane, president of Chapter 32, said, “I believe that this is one of the best things we do. One of the most sacred things we do. It is an extraordinary job. It is a sad job. It is necessary job.”
As our Commissioner, Loree Sutton, said in closing at the luncheon, “Service is indeed our North Star. And each and every one of you demonstrates that with each and every dignified burial you preside over.” To all our partners, we thank you and commend you for your service.
DVS is enormously proud and grateful for the tireless work of our Organizational Friends who make dignified burials for NYC’s indigent veterans possible. To become an Organizational Friend or help in other ways, please contact us at info@veterans.nyc.gov or call 212–416–5250 and ask to speak to the incredible leader of this program, Ines Adan.
Many thanks to all our partners:
American Legion — Glendale
American Legion — Rockaway
Black Veterans for Social Justice
Brooklyn Funeral Home
Calverton National Cemetery
Catholic War Veterans
Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
Deputy Mayor Buery’s Office
Dignity Memorial
Dormi & Sons
George Werst Funeral Home
Hess Miller Funeral Home
Human Resources Administration
Joseph A. Lucchese Funeral Home, Inc
Missing in America Project
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
Public Administrator — Kings County
Public Administrator — New York County
Public Administrator — Staten Island
Rolling Thunder NY Chapter 1
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 32
