Wanting better for veterans as they make their way to their final resting place spurred members of the UAW Local 3520 Veterans Committee at Daimler Freightliner in Cleveland to do something.

It started, said Steve Barber, current chair of the veterans committee, when they were at the local wreath laying ceremony, which they attend every year. While there, they noticed the burial cart that transports the bodies of veterans to their graves. It was noticed that the cart was in very bad condition, and, he said, “we thought, ‘wow, that’s how our soldiers take their last ride to their final resting place?’” 

At that time, Robert Osborne was chairman of the committee and it was Osborne who had the idea of restoring the burial cart, Barber said. So he presented the idea to the committee, and they all agreed to take on the project and restoration began.

Made up of approximately eight or nine members, those on the committee do not have to be veterans; however, they do have to be union members, he said. But of the members, half are veterans, Barber added, including himself.

The restoration project that was taken on by the veterans committee began about two years ago. Barber said that the process has taken a while because there is only one cart and they have had to work around the number of funerals held at the Salisbury National Cemetery where it is used solely for funerals.

“They use it every day, just about,” he said, “sometimes two to three times a day.” 

Restoration began with their wrapping the big black box on the back of the cart in an American flag, which he said looked really good.

Deciding not to get new wheels, the group chose instead to paint the wheels they had silver.

While the body of the cart remains the red color it was originally, the next step involved the wrapping of the front portion of cart, instead of painting it, as originally planned, and placing each military branch insignia on it, which “made it really good,” Barber said.

The final step in the restoration was to replace the seats, which was just completed with the help of a generous gift from Jane Smith-Steinberg.

Smith-Steinberg, who taught for 30-plus years, comes from a military family, and is a Blue Star daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, mother and grandmother. She learned of the cart and the need when a friend’s husband died, she said, and when contacted, gave the donation so that the project could be completed. 

The process of restoring the cart was completed in mid-October, and “it really looks pretty good,” said Barber, adding that the entire committee has worked to raise funds and do a lot of the work on the cart themselves.

In addition to the donation, fundraisers have been held by the veterans committee including raffles, bake sales at the Freightliner plant, and they have sponsored a dine and donate event at Texas Roadhouse.

“All of the money that we raise goes into our veterans fund,” said Barber. “We help local veterans.”

A second burial cart is anticipated to be added next spring, and he said they have committed to the VA cemetery that when that new cart arrives, they will place the insignias on the front and wrap the American flag on the box making it look like the original one.

Thankful that they could help in this way, Barber said he “doesn’t really feel in this country that we do enough for our veterans.” Therefore, they were glad to be able to  “provide them a respectful transportation to their final resting place, it’s very gratifying.”

When talking about the cart and the work that had been done by the various people, Barber concluded by saying that “it doesn’t matter who gets the credit as long as God gets the glory.”