BRIDGEVILLE (KDKA) — Remains of 15 fallen soldiers, forgotten soldiers came home at last at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies – the work of area veterans, funeral directors and the Missing In America project.

Lt. Colonel Miles Glotfelty says it’s the military credo: bring our fallen home.

“No matter where those fallen are, it’s our responsibility to bring them back, and give them an honorable burial,” he said. “And here we veterans right here in the United States who never received that honorable burial and this is a time when we can do it.”

Vietnam Veteran Lanny Golden led the fight for a new state law.

“One-hundred-twenty days after an individual dies, the family has to make a determination of what they want to do with the urns, or the remains,” Golden said.

Then, he and others may conduct their own, often frustrating, search for kin.

A columbarium is the final resting place for 15 veterans who ultimately were not forgotten. Ceremonies like this one all across the nation tell these brave men and women it’s never too late to say thank you.

“They put their butt on the line. They’re my brothers.”

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