OREGON -- The burial of a homeless Navy veteran at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland was the 1,000th in a national program that provides military honors to homeless and indigent vets. Petty Naval Officer 2nd Class Stevenson L. Roy died of natural causes on Dec. 16, when it was discovered that he had served during the Vietnam War. The Oregonian reported no family members could be found, so the funeral was handled by the Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home through the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program. The program provided Roy with a full military burial, complete with a 21-gun salute, missing-man procession by the Patriot Guard motorcycle riders and presentation of the flag by the Oregon Honor Guard. Since Roy had no widow, children, siblings, or other relatives, the honor guard presented the folded flag to 12-year-old Nick Henry because he is a member of the Civil Air Patrol and his mother is an executive at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, which conducted the service. Henry, a cadet in CAP’s Columbia Composite Squadron in Portland, said he was “honored” to be asked to receive the flag and the governor’s coin.
