Finally, 'Taps' for Michigan Vets Whose Remains Were Unclaimed: Memorial Day 2014

War veterans whose cremains have been unclaimed in Michigan funeral homes for several decades will be given dignity and respect with a military funeral procession, military service honors and burial at the Great Lakes National Cemetery.

Five veterans who died without resources and whose cremains have been in Michigan funeral homes for three decades will be honored during Dearborn’s Memorial Day observances on May 26.

This is the fourth time in the last five years that the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council searched for veterans in need of internment as part of the Missing In America Project. A national effort, the MIA Project aims to locate, identify and inter the cremated remains of American veterans, and to provide honor and respect to individuals who served their country by securing a final resting place for them.

The Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council will conduct a funeral procession at 9:40 a.m. on Memorial Day before the traditional Memorial Day parade begins at 10 a.m., the city of Dearborn said in a news release.

Military service honors will be offered for the men during the noon Remembrance Ceremony at City Hall, 13616 Michigan Ave., following the parade.

They will be interred at the Great Lakes National Cemetery soon.

The men are:

• Sgt. Russell A. Shumway, born Nov. 16, 1894 in North Dakota; died March 31, 1980 in Grand Rapids; U.S. Army Troop A, 14th Cavalry: WWI May 1917 - September 1919
• S1C John Avram, born March 29, 1924 in Detroit; died Jan. 25, 1986 in Detroit; U.S. Navy, USS LST-51 WWII July 1943 - December 1945 (Normandy Landings, Okinawa Landings)
• Pvt. Andrew Hudacko, born February 10, 1918 in Pennsylvania; died Feb. 22, 1993 in Detroit; U.S. Army Signal Corps May 1944 - June 1946
• Pvt. Howard W. Johannsen, born Aug. 10, 1918 in Chicago; died Dec. 31, 1976 in Detroit;  U.S. Army June 1942 - Oct.194
• Pvt. Orville M. Koonce, born April 26, 1924 in Nashville; died Feb. 25, 1993 in Taylor; U.S. Army Air Corps Aug 1943-Oct. 1945  

To learn more about Dearborn’s Memorial Day parade, the oldest continuous parade in Michigan, visit www.cityofdearborn.org and click on Memorial Day Parade button, which has a U.S. flag graphic. The information includes the parade lineup.