Nebraska Legionnaires organize proper send-off for Civil War veteran

A private serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Benton C. Kinkead fought in the Battle of Shiloh, and was both shot and captured during his service.

Following his service, he married Cynthia Vest, had three children and eventually settled in Plattsmouth, Neb., where he became a house painter. His wife died in 1910, and Kinkead moved to Seattle to live with his grown children, where he died in 1916.

He was cremated, but for reasons still not clear his ashes were never picked up from the funeral home. And they stayed there until they were identified by representatives from the Missing in America Project – a nonprofit whose mission is to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of U.S. veterans – and sent back to Plattsmouth, where Cynthia is buried.

And that’s when members of Hugh J. Kearns American Legion Post 56 in Plattsmouth got involved, ensuring that Kinkead received the burial he’d earned through his military service.

On Oct. 30, hundreds of veterans and community members showed up at Oak Hill Cemetery in Plattsmouth to watch as Kinkead received a military burial. And it was because of the effort of Post 56 Legionnaires that the Civil War veteran was honored the way he was.

“We don’t know what happened (with Kinkead’s ashes),” Past Post 56 Commander Michael Pauly said. “But here’s what I do know: When he got back here, because of his service to keep our country together, he deserved to be buried with military honors. He earned it. So therefore, we owed it to him to give it to him.”

It all started when the ashes arrived at Oak Hill Cemetery and the grounds superintendent, Jesse Clark, made a call to Post 56 Finance Officer Kermit Reisdorph.

“He called me and said, ‘I’ve got ashes.’ And I’m thinking ‘why would I need to know about ashes?’” said Reisdorph, a past post, county, district and area commander. “And he said, ‘you want to know about these because they’re Civil War veteran’s ashes.’ I went right out there, talked to him, talked to a veteran service officer, and the three of us got to talking. I said ‘the man has to have a proper military burial. All of us agreed, and I said, ‘I’ll go ahead and take care of it.’”

Reisdorph reached out to Pauly for assistance and then started making phone calls to American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in Cass County, as well as the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. He organized a committee from various entities to perform genealogy background testing and began to plan a viewing and funeral for Kinkead.

In the meantime, the two Legionnaires attempted to locate and reach out to any of Kinkead’s surviving relatives. Reisdorph got a few possible phone numbers from a Civil War reenactor for Kinkead’s great-granddaughter, with whom he was able to contact. She in turn put Reisdorph in contact with her brother, which led to a long conversation and Reisdorph getting permission to donate a 48-star U.S. flag presented at Kinkead’s funeral and the signed viewing book to the Cass County Historical Society Museum.

“They’ll hold it there for any relative that can come up and show providence,” Pauly said. “And if they show up with providence, it’s all theirs.”

The pair also worked with Cass County Veterans’ Service Officer Brian Coffman to order a Department of Veterans Affairs grave marker for Kinkead’s gravesite. And as word got out of Reisdorph’s and Pauly’s plans, members of the community stepped forward to assist.

One local funeral home provided transportation, a burial urn and a signature book for the viewing, while another funeral home donated a burial vault for the urn and printed programs for the viewing. Area merchants donated items for the reception following the funeral service. And Reisdorph said he received strong support from City Administrator Emily Bausch and Plattsmouth Mayor R. Paul Lambert. “They backed me up 100 percent,” he said. “They both said, ‘whatever you need to do, you’ve got our 100-percent backing.’”

Around 100 people showed up for the viewing, but Pauly and Reisdorph estimate around 500 people attended the funeral, which was modeled after funerals provided to Union soldiers more than 100 years ago.

In addition to the presentation of the folded U.S. flag, a rifle salute and the playing of taps, the funeral service also included the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Brass Band playing music on Civil War-era instruments while dressed in Civil War-era uniforms. The Plattsmouth High School choir also sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” while the fire department from Offutt Air Force Base provided two aerial trucks and a garrison flag at the service.

Members of the Legion, the VFW and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War were among those escorting Kinkead’s remains to their final resting place.

“My perspective (for helping organize the funeral) was out of dignity and respect, but also historical,” Pauly said. “This is a man who put his life on the line to keep our Union together. And in the process of doing that, he was badly wounded in his ankle and left disabled. And he still went forth and made a life for himself and his wife.”

Reisdorph said the work he put into making the funeral service for Kinkead happen comes from a feeling of obligation. “I did it because I am a veteran. As a veteran … you’ve got more a feeling toward brotherhood and sisterhood toward other veterans,” he said. “When something like this comes up, and you have the opportunity to fulfill something that should have been done years ago, and you have the opportunity to do it now, you don’t hesitate.”