BURIAL OF UNCLAIMED VETERANS
In the Spring of 2009, the Department of Veterans Services, City of New York, declared the Queens County Committee, of the Department of New York, American Legion as an Organizational Friend of Indigent Veterans. We became the third organization so honored.
Normally, when a person dies with no known next of kin and no provisions for the disposition of their remains, they are declared indigent and eventually interred in an otherwise unmarked grave on New York City Cemetery on Hart Island, commonly known as "Potter's Field". If it is determined that such an individual was a honorably discharged veteran, they may be eligible for burial in a veterans cemetery. However, there are no longer any veterans' cemeteries within the confines of the City of New York that is currently accepting new veterans for burial.
Current law does not allow the City of New York to transport a body outside the city limits. As an Organizational Friend of Indigent Veterans, the Queens County Committee may make arrangements for the burial in the National Cemetery in Calverton, NY. The George Werst Funeral Home, 7141 Cooper Avenue, Glendale, NY 11385, has agreed to handle the burials that are referred to us.
The following veterans were buried by the Queens County Committee, Inc.:
| NAME | BORN | SERVICE ERA | DIED | BURIAL | LOCATION |
| Leonard Stevens | 9/22/1946 | USN, Vietnam | 06/25/2009 | 08/07/2009 | Sec 34, Site 1645 |
|
Thomas Kilimet |
5/24/1941 | SP4, USA | 01/19/2008 | 10/20/2009 | Sec 34, Site 4127 |
| Joseph Castanella | 8/20/1948 | PFC, USA, Vietnam | 07/09/2009 | 10/20/2009 | Sec 34, Site 4128 |
| Patrick Amabile | 3/12/1935 | A2C, USAF, Korea | 12/20/2009 | 04/30/2010 | Sec 34, Site 3634 |
| Joseph Pictrowicz | 4/7/1947 | PFC, USA, Vietnam | 03/20/2010 | 07/15/2010 | Sec 36, Site 4479 |
| Neil T. McCafferty | 8/16/1954 | PVT, USMC, Vietnam | 10/4/2010 | 02/17/2011 | Sec 34, Site 1009 |
| Marvin M. Byers | 5/17/1954 | PVT, USA, Cold War | 11/27/2010 | 03/24/2011 | Sec 34, Site 1900 |
| Norman P. Hong | 10/10/1934 | PFC, USA, Cold War | 03/11/2011 | 04/14/2011 | Sec 34, Site 2574 |
| Anthony C Stepenson | 04/29/1946 | USA, Vietnam | 04/22/2011 | 07/13/2011 | Sec 33, Site 1900 |
| Ronald Romanowich | 05/01/1943 | HM3, USN, Vietnam | 03/14/2011 | 08/18/2011 | Sec 33, Site 1195 |
| Morris Louis Golub, aka Felix Munso | 03/18/1922 | Merchant Marine, WWII | 05/03/2011 | 12/06/2011 | Sec 33, Site 2424 |
| Louis Lamar | 9/9/1940 | PVT,USA, Cold War | 6/29/2011 | 2/21/2012 | Sec 34, Site 4589 |
| Beverly Kidd | 7/28/1943 | Spouse | 10/22/2011 | 2/21/2012 | Sec 34, Site 4590 |
| Albert J Hunter | 12/27/1927 | PVT, USA, Korea | 11/15/2011 | 2/21/2012 |
Sec 34, Site 4591 |
| James Black | 2/13/1923 | PVT, USA, WWII | 2/23/2004 | 5/22/2012 | Sec 35, Site 1594 |
| Paul Busso | 2/17/1948 | SP4, USA, Vietnam | 4/17/2012 | 5/22/2012 | Sec 35, Site 1595 |
| Thomas Robert Carrenno | 12/5/1961 | PVT, USA, Cold War | 2/29/2012 | 5/29/2012 | Sec 55, Site 649 |
| Alvin D. Powers | 11/4/1948 | PVT, USA, Vietnam | 5/8/2012 | 11/13/2012 | Sec 55, Site 2464 |
| Clifford C. Williams, aka Billy | 4/30/1958 | SGT, USA, Cold War | 5/22/2012 | 1/9/2013 |
Sec 55, Site 368 |
| Arthur Mindiola-Mercado | 5/8/1942 | PVT, USA, Vietnam | 9/16/2012 | 4/10/2013 | Sec 55, Site 1238 |
| Edward Barnes | 11/2/1934 | PFC, USMC, Korea | 9/16/2012 | 6/20/2013 | Sec 55, Site 2169 |
| Robert Langford | 12/26/1943 | SN, USN, Vietnam | 4/4/2013 | 8/21/2013 |
Sec 55, Site 2977 |
| Jesus Matos | 11/4/1945 | PFC, USA, Vietnam | 9/8/2013 | 10/24/2013 | Sec 55, Site 3854 |