The community is invited to join a ceremony on Thursday, November 7, 2024, at 11 a.m. at the Ulster County Veterans Cemetery to honor World War I veteran John Lodge Stoneman. A final resting place will be provided for Stoneman, who served his country over a century ago and whose remains went unclaimed for decades before being brought to Wiltwyck Cemetery in Kingston.

Stoneman was born in Detroit in 1895 and served in the U.S. Army from 1917 to 1919. Despite his honorable service, his cremated remains were left unclaimed until Wiltwyck Cemetery Superintendent Matt Sirni accepted them in 2023. Since then, Wiltwyck volunteers have worked tirelessly, with the support of Congressman Pat Ryan’s office and the Ulster County Veterans Services Agency, to retrieve his Certificate of Military Service and secure him a proper burial.

The service will include a procession led by the Patriot Guard, with an escort from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department.