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Homeless veterans honored with military funeralSAN DIEGO, Mar 27, 2011 (KSWB-TV - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Two homeless veterans were buried in a full military service Saturday at Veterans Museum and Memorial Center at Balboa Park. "We bring them in here and we adopt them into our family, then we bury them," said David Brown, a veteran and organizer of the monthly funerals. Once a month, San Diego County veterans groups hold memorial services for indigent veterans. On Saturday, Edward Loux, who served in the US Army, and Charles Schulken, who served in the US Navy, were laid to rest. "It's only right that we take care of our own, our own brothers, and our sisters," said Thomas Mowery, who served in the US Army 1980-83 and now volunteers as a pallbearer. "These people dedicated their services to this country and they deserve our respect," said Mowery. The group does not ask what happened to the veteran to put him on the street. They say all that matters is that he/she was a veteran. In addition to honoring homeless vets, the memorial service also pays tribute to the roughly 500 veterans who died every month in San Diego. Brown read the names of nearly 300 vets Saturday, including about 25 who have recently died in Iraq or Afghanistan. The monthly service lasts roughly an hour and is open to the public. To see more of KSWB-TV, go to http://www.fox5sandiego.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, KSWB-TV, San Diego Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |