Unclaimed veteran who died alone buried with honors
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NASHVILLE, TN (WMSV) — A small group of veterans came together on Tuesday at the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery to conduct a moving ceremony.
Private Theodore Triplett died alone – there was no one to claim his body. A number of veterans’ organizations made sure he was buried with honors.
There’s not a lot known about Triplett, but he served his country honorably. A handful of men and women – all veterans – wanted to make sure that his passing was marked with respect and honor.
Retired Col. James Bachman attends many of these ceremonies.
“Somebody who lives their life, and yet, when they pass on, no one can claim their body,” said Bachman. “I’ve asked myself why? You can find them at the VA hospitals, veteran homes. Families dump them. That’s what it is, they dump them in a facility and never visit them. Today we are their family of the veterans and he deserves the honor.”
A poem called The Warriors Rest was read. It says in part: “The sky above is a stream for heaven’s door, and the souls that will be laid, the fathers waiting for, the flag that waves here for those that no one claims, the breeze that blows here call their soldiers name.”
About three dozen veterans attended the ceremony, including representatives from the American Legion, Combat Veterans Association and Rollin Thunder.
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