Who would have guessed the remains of nearly two dozen military veterans lay unclaimed in dark corners and basements of funeral homes across Butler County?

When they started looking a year ago, two Butler men had a suspicion they would find at least a few.

After hundreds of hours of searching, Jerry Puff and John Moore located the remains of 19 servicemen eligible for burial in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Washington County. Two more were still awaiting verification.

Puff and Moore, both former U.S. Marines and members of the Bantam Marines detachment of the Marine Corps League, volunteered for the solemn task of identifying the unclaimed remains, reuniting them with relatives when possible, and arranging proper military burials for the rest.

“Every veteran is entitled to a burial at a national cemetery,” Puff said.

The two performed these tasks in coordination with the Missing in America Project, a national nonprofit organization.

Eight of those 19 have since been claimed by family members the men were able to contact.

The remaining 11 will receive a full military funeral, complete with honors, on Aug. 23.

“We will take them from Butler to their interment,” Puff said. “Our intent is to have legion riders precede and follow the hearse to escort the cremains down to the cemetery.”

It is perplexing and troubling how many veterans slide into obscurity, isolation, even homelessness after their service days are over. Many who live homeless die that way, too.

Our solemnm thanks and cheers to Jerry Puff and John Moore for the efforts to restore dignity and honor to the final chapter in the lives of forgotten local patriots and heroes.

Congratulations, Slippery Rock. You now have a bulk-trash fact-finding commission with more than twice as many members as the borough council that appointed it.The commission, to which the seven-member council appointed 15 people, does not yet have a specific mission. A good starting point would be a determination of counci's intent when it moved the spring bulk pickup from mid-May to mid-March. So far we haven't heard one.According to a letter to the Butler Eagle last week from Councilman Itzi Meztli, the move to March resulted in a decrease by 43 tons from collection the previous year in May, which coincided with the end of Slippery Rock University's academic year. The March collection also resulted in a lot of wailing and gnashing of the teeth of university students living in rental properties, along with their landlords. Not to mention 43 tons, more or less, of trash stowed away somewhere within the borough.Also yet to be determined — in the minds of some borough officials, anyway — is whether or not to open the commission's meetings to the public, as if such discussions need to be kept away from residents already wondering why 43 tons or more of trash didn't get picked up. Well, that's a moot point now. No committee of 15 people can keep secrets. The truth will come out.Unfortunately, a committee that big isn't likely to get much done, either. Maybe that was council's objective all along.

A mezzo forte cheer goes out to Butler High School band director Jeff Kroner's efforts to protect the hearing of his students.Kroner last week hosted Dr. Catherine Palmer, director of audiology at UPMC, who talked with band members and their parents about the importance of musician earplugs.Repeated exposure to sound of 90 decibels or more in volume will cause hearing damage, Palmer told them. The average ensemble band plays at 97 dB. Certain band instruments including the violin, oboe, flute and French horn can exceed the 90 dB threshold solo.The earplugs are specially made for musicians and allow them to hear the music, but at safe levels. At about $6 a pair, they are good insurance against hearing damage.Band members are being encouraged to wear the earplugs during practice and performances.It's ironic that young musicians might be least able of anyone to appreciate the importance of protecting their hearing. If they have any doubts, they should ask their parents or grandparents.And if they do ask, they should speak a little louder, please.