Missing in America Project gives military funeral, 24 unclaimed Utah veterans

SALT LAKE CITY — The Missing in America Project will conduct its third mission in Utah by honoring 11 veterans whose remains have been in the care of four mortuaries, yet remained unclaimed.

Services will be conducted with full military honors for the following eleven veterans at 9 a.m. on Aug. 16, in the Utah Veterans Memorial Park Chapel, 17111 S. Camp Williams Road in Riverton, Utah.

Lindquist Mortuaries

  • Edward Gale (1927-2010) served in the US Marine Corps, PFC, 1945-1947; WWII
  • Russel Godfrey (1944-2006) served in the US Army, SP4, 1964-1967; Vietnam and in the US Navy, SN, 1968-1970; Vietnam
  • Cecil Larry Hoyer (1942-2012) served in the US Navy, SR, 1960; Peace Time
  • David L. Lamb (1929-2007) served in the US Navy, S2C, 1946; WWII

Memorial Mortuaries

Deseret Memorial Mortuary

  • Daniel Thomas Cosgrove (1947-2013) served in the US Air Force, SSGT, 1966-1970; Vietnam

Redwood Memorial Mortuary

  • Jack Kline Larsen (1951-2010) served in the US Navy, CA, 1970-1974; Peace Time

Mortuary #4

  • Forrest (Tree) Carl Aubrey, (1962-2013) served in the US Army, PFC, 1981-1983; Peace Time
  • David Lee Hockett (1945-2013) served in the US Army, PVT, 1969-1971; Vietnam
  • Ronald Joseph Littleton (1940-2013) served in the US Army, PV2, 1958-1961; Peace Time
  • Robert John Place (1934-2013) served in the US Army, PVT-2, 1951-1954; Korea
  • Norman Floyd Shipley (1947-2013) served in the US Navy, SR, 1964-1968; Vietnam

The purpose of the Missing in America Project is to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans through the joint efforts of private, state and federal organizations; to provide honor and respect to those who have served this country, by securing a final resting place for these forgotten heroes. MIAP is a non-profit, 100 percent volunteer organization. For more information, visit the MIAP website.

To that end, the Project was able to locate, identify and verify an additional 13 veterans at a fifth local mortuary.  However, we were not able to recover their cremated remains for burial at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park. On Aug. 16, we will give them their long overdue honors.

Mortuary #5

  • David Reubin Beveridge (1937-2000) served in the US Navy, SR, 1954-1955; Korea
  • Adrien Robert Boileau (1938-2003) served in the US Army, PV2, 1956-1958; Peace Time
  • Paul S. Bronson, Jr. (1923-1996) served in the US Army, SSGT, 1942-1945 and 1946-1948; WWII, Air Medal
  • Danny Rae Brownlee, (1940-2002) served in the US Navy, SN, 1958-1961; Peace Time
  • Eugene C. Christensen (1920-2000) served in the US Army T SGT, 1939-1945; WWII
  • David Earl Conley (1942-2001) served in the US Army, SP4, 1964-1966; Vietnam
  • Louis William Dettling (1925-1999) served in the US Navy, S1C, 1944-1945; WWII
  • Jack Morris Hancock (1925-1976) served in the US Navy, MOMM3C, 1943-1945; WWII
  • Joseph William Hedgbeth (1927-1997) served in the US Army, PVT, 1946-1949; WWII
  • Ronald Jerome Lason (1938-2009) served in the US Navy, AN, 1957-1959; Peace Time
  • Melvin Moore (1938-2002) served in the US Navy, SN, 1960-1962; Peace Time
  • Robert Muir (1918-2000) served in the US Army, SFC (Ret.), 1939-1960; WWII and Korea
  • Larry Eugene Peterson (1939-2001) served in the US Air Force, A2C, 1957-1960; Peace Time

Hearses carrying the urns will be escorted by members of the Missing in America Project on motorcycles, with large American flags flying, followed by other participating veterans focused motorcycle organizations, cars and other vehicles.

Service Details

  • Interment | Utah Veterans Memorial Park Chapel
  • 17111 So. Camp Williams Road, Riverton, 84065
  • 9 a.m.
  • Government officials, the public and media are invited to attend.

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1 Comment

  • ducpho July 29, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    Great job Utah. Have a really good Memorial Service and escort to honor our Unclaimed Veterans who need us to stand up and be their family! They have cried out to us and it is now time to honor and respect them with a proper Military burial with their peers.

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