On Monday, May 27, 2024, a small gathering of citizens gathered at the Edith Ford Cemetery in Canadian for Memorial Day services.

Members of Canadian’s American Legion Post 56 conducted the ceremony, led by Commander John McGarr. An Honor Guard of David Parnell, Matthew Huff, Warren Rivers, Bradley Baker, Troy Carver and Jensen Whitaker presented the colors. Following the National Anthem and a prayer led by McGarr, the names of local veterans who have died in the last three years were read. A rifle salute was fired in honor of all deceased veterans.

Prior to the service, volunteers had placed flags at the graves of all veterans buried here.

The guest speaker, Kirsten Carver of Canadian, spoke about the efforts of the Missing in America Project—both nationally and in Amarillo—to find, identify, and inter the remains of American veterans who were never claimed by their families, honored for their service, and respectfully buried.

The Missing in America Veterans Recovery Program (https://www.miap.us/) is a federally-recognized non-profit veterans organization dedicated to the identification, location, verification and movement of veterans and their dependents. In doing so, they give honor and respect to those who have served this country by securing a final resting place for the forgotten heroes.

These were Carver’s words:

I’m grateful to be here speaking with you all today. Many of my family, and dear friends who we have known and loved, have served their country. So it’s a special blessing to be here talking about something so close to my heart…especially as my own husband serves. A blessed memorial day to you all!

There is an American patriot who works diligently for a wonderful organization, but does so much more. Some call him a funeral director, others a businessman. For my family, he’s known as Papa pancakes, my father-in-law. Joel Carver is the assistant state coordinator over the Panhandle Division of the Missing in America project.

Many active duty members expect to have honor and respect paid to them at the end of their lives for serving their great country. Instead, the remains of many who have died and been cremated sit unclaimed on shelves in the courthouses, mortuaries or even storage facilities for one reason or another. Our obligation to give them the resting place they deserved is put on hold as they wait to be rediscovered. All were not claimed at their death.

Since 2007, Missing in America Project has located 5,800 unclaimed veterans and buried them with full military honors across the country. Their military service ranges from the Civil War through modern times. In Idaho State, a hospital announced that 3,500 cremation remains were on the shelves to be identified. In a period ranging from the 1890’s to 1971, those remains sat on the shelf waiting to be discovered and finally put to rest with the honor of a soldier. Of those 3,500, an estimated 1,000 are believed to be veteran remains.

The story is similar in every state. The goal of this project is to rediscover those remains and lay them to rest in their final destination.

The Texas Panhandle Division of Missing in America project all started with my father-in-law. Joel spends many hours doing his own family genealogy and it has bled over to many other avenues. It all began with one simple conversation with Amarillo Judge Anderson on what happens to the remains of the homeless. In the vault in Amarillo alone, there are 400 remains of men and women that were never claimed by friends or family.

How many of those lost and forgotten in history and left in the vault could be veterans? After a quick Google search, the MIA Project caught Joel’s eye and he began the Panhandle Division.

The research began with the first 100 names. After two years of research, hard work and dedication, the first ride began from Amarillo to the National Cemetery in San Antonio, where the first six fallen soldiers were buried.

Before they made the journey to their final resting place, Joel was contacted and told that they were to be escorted by roughly 150 members of the Patriot Guard Riders for the 522-mile, 8-hour trip to San Antonio. It was truly a sight to see.

Towns along the way paid their respects as the streets were lined with patriots and American flags. Children stood at attention with their hands over their hearts and waved flags. Firefighters, police and everyday citizens honored the first six.

One woman with her 5-year-old child stopped her car to simply get out and hold her hand over her heart as the procession passed. School buses packed full of children were brought in to walk past the urns, and to show and pay their respect.

Since then, this has been a yearly task to bury the remains of any veterans missing in America. To date this year in the Panhandle Division, 70 soldiers have been buried and 110 veterans found.

One of the soldiers found had served in three wars: the Korean War, World War II, and Vietnam. He received the Purple Heart for gunshot wounds to his body during one battle in World War II. He lived to be 70, and passed away in a rest home. His remains were left for 10 years in the vault. After much time, he was finally given the funeral that a hero deserved.

Now we ask for your help. Go into the courthouse vaults in your towns, and research to see if any veterans were forgotten and are now missing in America. Are there any cremated remains unclaimed by a family?

This project cannot fulfill its mission without your help. Whether you volunteer resources to help, or you volunteer your time to research your area and provide information to the volunteers…consider reaching out to the Panhandle Missing in America Project.

On this Memorial Day, as we spend time with our loved ones and honor those who gave all for their country, let us remember in this cemetery those who have served. What was once lost can now be found, and we can be part of their memorial, and honor those who have honored us.