On October 16, the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and Connecticut Funeral Directors Association (CFDA) held a military funeral ceremony for the unclaimed cremated remains of three U.S. Army veterans:

• PFC Mario Nello DeVito, U.S. Army, serving 1945-47; July 21, 1927-July 18, 2000; died in Bristol

• Pvt. James Dickinson, U.S. Army, serving 1941-43; November 14, 1917-March 17, 1998; died in West Haven

• SP5(T) Richard Robert Thurston, U.S. Army, serving 1964-67; October 11, 1943-October 21, 2022; died in Simsbury.

At 9:40 a.m., the Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Patriot Guard Riders escorted CFDA hearses containing the cremated remains from the DVA’s Rocky Hill Campus to State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown.

The public ceremony started at 10:30 a.m. DVA Commissioner Brigadier General (Ret.) Ron Welch led the ceremony, which was supported by funeral directors from several firms across the state, as well as the Connecticut National Guard and Connecticut Patriot Guard Riders. Numerous other federal, state and local officials attended, as did leaders of many veterans organizations.

Commissioner Welch, CFDA President Lionel J. Lessard Jr. and other dignitaries delivered remarks during the ceremony, which included the posthumous presentation of Connecticut Wartime Service medals.

This was the 10th such ceremony hosted by the Connecticut DVA in coordination with CFDA since 2009. That year, the state established new protocols to identify the unclaimed cremated remains of honorably discharged U.S. veterans in Connecticut funeral homes with the goal of providing them with a dignified burial with full military honors. ctfda.org