Unclaimed Navy veteran laid to rest in Henderson County

PARKERS CROSSROADS, Tenn. — An unclaimed Navy veteran is finally at peace. He was laid to rest Friday with a proper burial.

More than 80 people in the community gathered together to honor the veteran. Unclaimed Navy veteran Gerald William Mapes Jr. was laid to rest Friday. He passed in late September at the age of 68.

“Well, I got a call from his neighbor who informed me he had no known family and I did the research on my own and was not successful in identifying any family, and so the neighbor asked ‘Can you help in some way?’,” said Valerie Baker, social worker.

With the help of many, Mapes was laid to rest at the Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at Parkers Crossroads.

“It’s been a blessing to me to be able to be a part of this. To just be here with all of these people showing that support to Mr. Mapes — the honors that he’s deserved,” said Dylan Kyle, cemetery director.

The cemetery partnered with an area funeral home to transport Mapes to the cemetery.

“In his case, it was Mercer Brothers out of Jackson. We worked directly with them trying to make sure that we have all of the documentation that we need. They have tried and in this case we also had a social worker who has tried to contact family members,” said Kyle.

The social worker who went beyond the call of duty was presented with the flag and shells.

“I can present this to his neighbor who couldn’t be here. So this will be a real blessing to give this to him in memory of the dear friend, and maybe family members may come or find out and he can pass this onto their family members,” said Baker.

There are nearly 700 veterans buried in the Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at Parkers Crossroads.

According to vanews.gov, last year the VA interred more than 2,300 unclaimed veterans in national, state and tribal veterans cemeteries.

For more Henderson County news, click here.