[Gracey]

A veteran's ashes headed for the trash were rescued by strangers looking to give him a more appropriate send-off.


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Annette M. Drowlette/Staff

The Rev. Paul Knox (from left), of American Legion Post 178, receives the ashes of veteran William Dillard from Patricia Haley and her friend Judith Laurens at a brief ceremony in Augusta.

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With William Dillard's widow in jail on drug charges, his neighbor intervened to spare his remains from being treated like trash during an eviction at Maxwell House Apartments earlier this month, Patricia Haley wrote in an e-mail.

She caught the "greasy" cardboard box of ashes and the folded American flag on the way out the door during the eviction. Fellow veterans have now stepped in to save Mr. Dillard.

It hasn't been easy.

America Legion Chaplain Paul Knox said he is trying to reach the veteran's widow, Diane Lawrence, but even her public defender hasn't been in touch with her, he said earlier this week. Efforts to reach Mr. Dillard's mother and brother were more successful.

"What happened is disgraceful," the Rev. Knox said of the incident.

The American Legion, members of the Marine Corps and Richmond County deputies were part of a motorcade that transported the ashes to Elliot Sons Funeral Homes, where they will be stored until a family member claims them.

The brief ceremony was "very powerful," said South Carolina State Guard Staff Sgt. Holli Stevenson, whose mother recovered the ashes. "Even if he wasn't a veteran, how can you just throw someone away?" she asked.

The remains being stored in the crematorium's original cardboard box only compounded her "outrage."
"We bring people home from the Middle East dead and in pieces in better condition," she said.

Very little is known about Mr. Dillard. He served in the Army and died Feb. 13, but Staff Sgt. Stevenson said that no matter who he was, he deserves more than to be sitting in a box on a shelf.

The Rev. Knox said he will know more about Mr. Dillard when he sees his military discharge papers. He wants to see Mr. Dillard receive a proper farewell with the full military honors befitting a veteran.
Mr. Dillard's mother was located in Miami, the Rev. Knox said. She injured her knee, though, when she was packing to come claim the ashes. "I feel that's a weight lifted off of me now," he said of finding her.

A second ceremony will be held to honor Mr. Dillard once his next of kin claims the ashes, the Rev. Knox said.

Marshal Steve Smith said his office gives plenty of warning when an eviction occurs, going beyond the notice it is required to give. In this instance, the resident was in jail at the time of the eviction.
The ashes, however, were never in jeopardy, he said.
"At no point in time were the ashes ever put somewhere where something could happen to them," Marshal Smith said.

It's the landlord's responsibility to remove a person's belongings during an eviction, he said. Many of the belongings were rented, and those that weren't were placed in a hallway.

This happened where I live. I was one of the folks involved, and can attest to the absolute disregard of integrity on the Marshall's office behalf. NO ONE from their office was there during the eviction process. . .I was. The ONLY thing that saved this mans remains from ending up in the dumpster was his next door neighbor.
I'm still reeling . . .utterly FURIOUS.