No immediate family, so 300 Veterans came to his funeral

The Fort Sill National Cemetery held a committal funeral service for Corporal Charles York, a Veteran who died with no immediate family to honor him.

The Veteran community and its families – about 300 people – rallied to honor Corporal York and to ensure he was not buried alone.

A Navy and Marine Corps Veteran, York served in Vietnam

The Fort Sill National Cemetery regularly holds memorial services for Unaccompanied Veterans, former service members whose next of kin is unknown or who have loved ones that cannot attend their service. Many times, burial arrangements have been made by a public administrator, a VA medical center, or some other authorized entity.

“The Veteran community rallied to ensure he was not buried alone.”

Every Veteran with honorable service has earned the right to be interred in a national cemetery and has paid the price by their service to this great nation. VA encourages the community to join us as we pay tribute to those who have served and sacrificed for our nation. It simply is the right thing for us to do.

The memorial service included full military funeral honors, the playing of “Taps,” the presentation of a folded American flag, and bagpipes. Several local media outlets covered York’s service, which lasted about 20 minutes.

Every service member receives proper tribute

Cemetery staff is present at every single burial and committal service. They become their family in that moment and ensure each service member who passes through the gates receives the proper tribute.

This event solidifies the amazing work cemetery employees are doing by partnering with the community to honor our Veterans and their families.

Located in Elgin, the 391-acre Fort Sill National Cemetery was dedicated on Nov. 2, 2001. Since that time, the cemetery has conducted more than 8,000 interments of Veterans and eligible dependents.

Burial in a VA national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and Veterans who have met minimum active-duty service requirements, as applicable by law and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.

Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty under certain circumstances or who die while on training duty are also eligible for burial, as are service members and former service members who were eligible for retired pay at the time of their death.

Spouses, minor children and, under certain conditions, dependent unmarried adult children are also eligible for burial even if they predecease the Veteran.

For more information, call 800-535-1117 or visit www.cem.va.gov.