Couple who died one day apart to be laid to rest together Tuesday at Beaufort National Cemetery
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Kenneth and Alice Milligan died just one day apart in early July, each in a different medical care facility.
On Tuesday, the husband and wife will be laid to rest together at Beaufort National Cemetery, where members of the community are invited to attend a service honoring the couple in the absence of family.
The public service will be held at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Beaufort National Cemetery, 1601 Boundary Street and is expected to last approximately 30 minutes.
Michael Brophy, director of Beaufort National Cemetery, said Kenneth and Alice died in separate facilities one day apart. Efforts by the facilities to locate family members to claim their remains were unsuccessful. Kenneth qualifies for burial at the national cemetery based on his military service, and Alice is eligible to be buried with him as his spouse.
While Beaufort National Cemetery regularly conducts services for veterans whose remains go unclaimed, Brophy said the circumstances surrounding the Milligans are unusual.
“Normally when we do an unclaimed service, it’s not a couple,” Brophy said.
Kenneth served in the U.S. Navy as a seaman apprentice and is considered a Vietnam-era veteran. Brophy said there is no confirmation that Kenneth served in Vietnam, but his military service fell within the period used to designate Vietnam-era veterans.
The Navy-Marine Corps Honor Guard will participate in Tuesday’s service, providing military honors for Kenneth, according to Brophy. The honors will include the folding and presentation of the American flag and the playing of taps.
With no family member present to receive the flag, someone attending the service will be selected to represent the family and accept it on their behalf. The flag is typically then donated to the cemetery, where it can become part of its Avenue of Flags.
The Patriot Guard Riders and AMVETS are also expected to attend. Brophy said services for unclaimed veterans often draw around 100 people because of the support the cemetery receives from the Beaufort County community.
Beaufort National Cemetery conducts an estimated three or four unclaimed veteran services each year, though the number varies. Brophy recalled a service about four years ago during which nine unclaimed veterans were honored and buried, each in a separate gravesite.
For Brophy, the effort to identify unclaimed veterans and ensure they receive the burial benefits they earned through their service is an important part of the cemetery’s mission.
“We want to make sure that unclaimed doesn’t mean unloved or unremembered,” Brophy said.
Following Tuesday’s service, Kenneth and Alice’s gravesite will be maintained in perpetuity as part of the national cemetery.
“We’re going to be caring for these sacred grounds and maintaining them as a shrine to their memory,” Brophy said. “I think it’s one of the great things about our country that we do that for our veterans.”
The service is open to the public.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.