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Nov 21, 2008 11:22 am US/Eastern
A Blanket Of Freedom For A Forgotten Soul
LAKE WORTH (CBS4) ―
Born Christmas Day and died on Halloween night, Edward Mathiesen in a span of 83 years left no family, no friends, no photographs of a where, when and why.
There was no money to embalm his body nor take it to a Veteran gravesite after he died, until a Broward organization came forward to help in his honorable burial on Friday in Lake Worth.
Mathiesen died on October 31st at 83 years of age in the Hollywood Memorial Regional Hospital. He died broke and alone – no family could be found. His body was kept in a morgue; there was no agency to pay the $500 to embalm and transport him to the VA gravesite.
Mathiesen served in World War II from March 1943 to March 1946 with an Honorable discharge. He was injured while serving. He was a police officer in the Midwest, and moved to Florida several years ago.
The Pantry of Broward, because of the agency's work with seniors in need, was contacted by the Broward County Elderly and Veterans Services Division to see if they could come up with the money.
"It was simply the right thing to do," said Penny Loughan, CEO of The Pantry of Broward. "Mr. Mathiesen will no longer be an indigent veteran. He will be honored as he should have been all along."
The funeral will take place at 2 pm with an honor guard at the South Florida VA Cemetery in Lake Worth.
The Pantry of Broward will donate Mathiesen's flag to the Arlington National Cemetery to be flown in honor of Edward on the Avenue of the Flags in Arlington.
It will give a whole new meaning to Thanksgiving.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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