Navy Veteran honored in Final Mile Ceremony

After graduating from high school in 1968, Jacky Lyn Branstetter joined the Navy during the height of the Vietnam War.

Branstetter had no family when he passed away earlier this year in the Community Living Center of the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas.

“Fortunately, we have a system in place for those situations,” said Dole VA’s Decedent Affairs Program Specialist Linda Rivera.

It’s called the Final Mile—a protocol that is activated when a Veteran passes with no known next of kin.

The Final Mile practice combines the efforts of the facility’s Decedent Affairs Program Specialist with community support to provide memorial services for Veterans who otherwise would not be remembered or honored upon their passing. The Final Mile program ensures that all Veterans are honored—not only in life, but also in death.

“We arranged for his burial to take place at the Kansas Veterans’ Cemetery,” Rivera added. “With the support of a local mortuary, law enforcement agencies and Veteran service organizations, we were able to provide a final salute to our fallen Veteran.”

About 175 VA staff, Veterans and community members turned out to render honors to Branstetter before the procession departed the medical center for interment at the state cemetery.