One women's mission to honor all veterans properly
FORT MITCHELL, Al. (WRBL) – When a veteran dies there's a ceremony to honor them and their lives of service. The burial ceremony can include a 21-gun salute, the playing of 'Taps' and being buried at a National Cemetery. At Fort Mitchell National Cemetery there about 5,000 service members laid to rest. However, not all service members get all the honors they deserve.
Sometimes homeless veterans get buried in what the military deems as improper graves for a servicemember. 20-year Army veteran, Patricia Liddell, ran into that situation first hand 10 years ago.
'The coroner called me. He said that he had a homeless veteran and he didn't know what to do,' Liddell said. 'Someone told him to call Pat Liddell.'
That phone call turned into a new mission for the retired Army Master Sergeant. Liddell set everything in motion so the homeless veteran the coroner called about could be buried at Fort Mitchell. She didn't complete the paperwork and make the right phone calls.
'I went to buy a suit for him, because I couldn't have him buried in a sheet, or towel or paper. I made sure that he looked good. Even though no he was not going to be displayed. But I needed to know in my heart that he was going to be laid to rest properly,' said Liddell.
Her continued service has become essential to honoring as many veterans in the Chattahoochee Valley. Fort Mitchell National Cemetery's Assistant Director Greg Smith says Liddell's impact doesn't go unnoticed.
'Without her a lot of our veterans will be in porous graves, somewhere where they shouldn't be,' Smith said. 'She makes sure that we can get them to the national cemetery and honor them with the rest of their brothers and sisters.'
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates there are over 40,000 homeless veterans in the United States. Liddell is driven to make sure that when they pass, she can help properly bury them with military honors. Liddell says no matter where life took them, they've earned the right to be buried among their military brothers and sisters.
'There's no reason for them to die alone. So I needed to make sure that they're laid to rest properly. But as long as I can take care of my veteran family here, my blood veteran family will be taken care of without any issues,' said Liddell.
Fort Mitchell National Cemetery officials honored Ms. Liddell for work and dedication to those veterans. She was honored, but plans to continue her work.
For more information about Fort Mitchell National Cemetery click here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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