‘The Evergreen’: How abandoned veteran remains in Oregon funeral homes were finally given a proper burial

By Mia Estrada (OPB), Jenn Chávez (OPB) and Joni Auden Land (OPB)
July 22, 2024 1 p.m.
Carolyn Arntson (left) and Denise Hatch inside Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Funeral Home on May 17, 2024. The two have spent the last decade searching the funeral home's storage units for remains of military veterans.

Carolyn Arntson (left) and Denise Hatch inside Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Funeral Home on May 17, 2024. The two have spent the last decade searching the funeral home's storage units for remains of military veterans.

Joni Land / OPB

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Carolyn Arntson and Denise Hatch have spent the past few years sorting through thousands of old cardboard boxes abandoned at Oregon funeral homes with one goal in mind: to find the remains of veterans, and get them interred at Willamette National Cemetery. OPB general assignment reporter Joni Auden Land has been following these women on their journey and tells us how the two sifted through boxes of ashes to finally give Oregon veterans a proper burial.

Listen to all episodes of The Evergreen podcast here.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
Become a Sponsor
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
Become a Sponsor
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
Become a Sponsor

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