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CNN Sunday Morning

National Cemeteries Honor Deceased Veterans

Aired May 27, 2001 - 09:11   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: Families, now, across the land are paying homage to loved ones lost in battle.

CNN's Ed Lavendara (ph) tells us that more and more families these days are seeking military burials.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVENDARA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy earned Lieutenant Commander Theodore Lindstrom a funeral service with military honors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

LAVENDARA: Lindstrom worked as a sonar expert during World War II helping track Japanese submarines in the South Pacific. When Lindstrom came home he promptly fell in love. He was married in six weeks. Fifty-five years later, Barbara Lindstrom has chosen the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery as her husband's final resting place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I present this flag to you as a token of our appreciation for your loved one's honor, cherish and commitment, ma'am, from the United States Navy.

BARBARA LINDSTROM, THEODORE LINDSTROM'S WIDOW: There is probably no such thing as a perfect person or a perfect marriage. If there is, he was closet, and we had it.

LAVENDARA: Constant funeral processions are a common site at national cemeteries -- 1,600 U.S. veterans die every day, the vast majority World War II veterans. Some national cemeteries like in Los Angeles are full and the numbers of dying veterans are increasing. By 2008, it's estimated 620,000 veterans will die each year. More burial space is needed and there are plans to open six more national cemeteries across the country.

ANTHONY PRINCIPE, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: We try to establish national cemeteries within 75 miles of a veteran's so that it's accessible, if you will, to the next of kin so that they can visit the grave site of their loved ones.

LINDSTROM: This is where he belongs. LAVENDARA: Before the Dallas cemetery opened last year Mary Bosley had kept her husband's remains at home for eight years. She had never lived close enough to a national cemetery. Now the Vietnam veteran rests with his military family.

MARY BOSLEY, JOSEPH BOSLEY'S WIDOW: And I'm sure it's a wonderful feeling for all of the veteran's families to come here and have this place.

LAVENDARA: The majestic grounds of a national cemetery provide comfort...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just -- it's so peaceful and serene.

LAVENDARA: ... where families can come to spend a private moment with their heroes.

Ed Lavendara, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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