But first, there is a heartbreaking trend that occurs from time to time in the funeral industry.

Someone passes away, their body is dropped off for cremation, and no one ever comes back to claim their remains.

They sit on a shelf.

But for one Western Kentucky couple, this story became personal when they realized some of those remains were of United States military veterans.

And through the Missing in America Project, they set out to make things right.

[music playing] Several years ago, Fred and Claudia Behnke attended a funeral where they saw a United States veteran laid to rest in a cardboard box.

Fred is a woodworker, and the experience led him to start making cremation urns that were then donated to veteran cemeteries.

From there, the couple discovered the Missing in America Project and learned about the phenomenon of remains going unclaimed at funeral homes.

Through the program, they work to identify remains belonging to veterans, which are then laid to rest with full military honors.

When you contact a funeral home, what are some of the first reactions you get?

Is it difficult to get in to do these types of searches?

Well, we both go into the funeral homes together, knock on the doors, and talk to them, ask them about unclaimed remains, things like this.

If they have them, and we inventory it, then Claudia takes it.

She does all the paperwork.

She sits at the computer, enters what she needs to enter.

She calls the Veterans Administration.

She'll recall them.

She keeps track of it, so it's up to date.

Some funeral homes jump at the chance to help.

Others aren't interested.

One that has been very willing to assist has been Haley McGinnis Funeral Home in Owensboro.

Of the 16 sets of remains the Behnkes have buried, seven of them have come from there.

Kamryn Logsdon of Haley McGinnis sees common threads in the stories among those who are unclaimed after cremation.

Most of the time, it's loved ones who don't have family present or families out of state, and they're not making the drive back to come get them or claim them, or all of their family has passed away.

Never married, never had kids, and they are the last ones left.

Once Claudia calls the Veterans Administration, she says that's where they do their magic to determine if the person is indeed a veteran.

From there, the couple builds the burial urns together.

They work like a well-oiled machine, or like a couple that has spent the last four decades together.

While building, they admit to wondering about the person for whom they're crafting a final resting place.

That's the mystery.

We don't ever know any of the back stories to it, unless the funeral home maybe happens to know something.

But generally, they're in the dark also, because some of them don't even know that that's a veteran.

Some of it is estranged family.

Some of it is they're homeless.

They're indigents.

They have no contact information.

And I think sometimes some of it may even be that Aunt Mary thought Uncle Leo had Grandpa, and neither of them had Grandpa, and so Grandpa's still sitting on the shelf.

The next part is the most personal for the Behnkes.

In order to take possession of the remains, they have to be legally declared next of kin.

Well, and it's really interesting, the funeral that we had, it was our first one, and to see the hearse drive up, it was like, “Oh, wow.” And you felt like they were your family.

At that first funeral the Behnkes put together, they wondered if anyone would show up, but more than 150 people came to pay respects.

And on a warm spring day in Hopkinsville at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery, another ceremony coordinated by the Behnkes was held.

Three veterans and a veteran's spouse were laid to rest that day with full military honors.

The very first thing I want to do before we even start this is to thank you all for coming out today.

We are going to be able to place these individuals with honor, and it's all because you guys took the time to come.

Everyone knows about the Mission in Action and POW program, where we go out to different countries and find the remains of veterans and bring them home.

But to have something here to find unclaimed veterans, it is great to have such a program.

The hearse bearing the remains was escorted into the cemetery by the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle organization that provides funeral escorts and flag lines for veterans.

As the urns were removed from the hearse, they were carried into the ceremony by an honor guard as the Patriot Guard lined the way.

Each veteran had a flag folded in their honor, presented to someone assigned to be a representative for the family.

The story of one of the vets laid to rest that day was especially poignant.

Captain George McCullough was a US Army Air Corps pilot in World War II.

Before he was buried, his ashes had sat on a shelf for 22 years, 3 months, and 17 days.

For our comrades-in-arms, Captain George McCullough, Seaman Apprentice Frank Golfinos Jr., and Private Richard Shirk, our nation bestows military honors.

In life, they honored the Flag, and in death, the Flag will honor them.

Ready.

[guns cocking] Aim.

Fire.

[gunshots] Ready.

[guns cocking] Aim.

Fire.

[gunshots] Ready.

[guns cocking] Aim.

Fire.

[gunshots] These veterans, when they sign up, they ask for nothing more than to be buried with respect.

They offer to give up their life for our freedoms.

So if they're sitting on a shelf somewhere, they're not getting the respect that they're due.

They don't ask for anything but one thing.

And if they're willing to give up their life for it, it's the right thing to do.

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