Final Arrangements

JUNE 2013 • PAGE 3 Final Arrangements A rthur Hair was chief orderly at the Montreal General Hospital in 1909 on the night when Trooper James Daly was admitted, homeless, unconscious and presumed drunk. Hair soon discovered that Daly was not drunk — he was suffering from hypothermia and malnutrition. He died after three days in hospital without regaining consciousness. And since no family came forward to claim his body, his remains were to be donated for medical research. As a veteran of the 1899 - 1902 South African War, Hair was appalled that someone who had served his country would not be provided a funeral. He raised money from friends and colleagues to give Trooper Daly a proper service and burial. Today, Hair is known as the founder of The Last Post Fund, a national non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that no eligible veteran is denied a dignified funeral, burial and military gravestone due to lack of funds. "Because of the nature of military service, many of our veterans came back wounded mentally and physically. Some fall on hard times," says Gen. Louis Cuppens, past- president of the Last Post Fund. "It's a moral obligation of the people of Canada to bury those who have served our country," he adds. "I don't know if a Canadian could stay awake at night knowing that a vet can't have a funeral because there is no one there to bury them." The fund has helped provide funeral and burial services for nearly 150,000 servicemen and women. It also provides military markers for unmarked graves and it founded the National Field of Honour, a military cemetery in Pointe-Claire, Que. In 1998, the organization took over administration of the Funeral and Burial Program, which is funded by Veterans Affairs Canada to provide services for eligible veterans who do not have the finances to pay for a funeral. Thanks to its lobbying efforts, the federal government recently increased funeral- service reimbursement rates to $7,376 for eligible veterans — more than double the former rate of $3,600. "We've been advocating this for more than 14 years," Cuppens says, adding the previous rate barely covered the essentials for a burial, such as a casket, grave liner, opening and closing of the grave and embalming. The Last Post Fund launched a fundraising campaign this year to ensure it can also provide services for veterans who are not eligible for funding under the Funeral and Burial Program. Cuppens says this category is mostly composed of modern-day veterans, a group that is growing rapidly. Last year, the fund provided funeral services for 12 veterans, at a cost of about $44,000. This year, the organization has already received at least 10 applications for veterans of modern-day conflicts who don't qualify under the government program. And projections show that in years to come, the Last Post Fund may need funding for as many as 400 veterans every year. It's set a fundraising campaign goal of $3 million to help make sure the men and women who sacrificed for our country continue to receive the honourable funerals they deserve. The organization has hired a consulting company to help with its fundraising efforts, which include running radio and TV ads, placing brochures at funeral homes, soliciting donations from individuals and submitting grant proposals to foundations. One of the Last Post Fund's advocates is Jane Saxby, administrator of the City of Winnipeg Cemeteries, which include military Fields of Honour at Transcona and Brookside Cemeteries. In cases where graves of veterans have been left unmarked for more than five years, the city will apply for a military grave marker. Saxby says the Last Post Fund doesn't turn away many applications, and she adds that veterans deserve to be honoured at their deaths. "Our veterans gave a lot to all of us, whether at home or at the front," Saxby says. "It's very important to mark their passing with dignity." Honouring Service Last Post Fund ensures dignified burials for veterans By Kathryne Cardwell For the Free Press Photo: Darcy Finley Military markers at Brookside Cemetery's Field of Honour. For more information, see www.lastpostfund.ca.

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