Ten years later, in cooperation with Lombardo Funeral Home, Patriot Guard Riders of New York (PGNY) conducted a Veteran Recovery Project mission.  The unclaimed cremated remains of 12 veterans were part of that mission, and Mr. Zdarsky was one of those 12.  Unbeknownst to the family, his ashes were never scattered; instead, the funeral home held onto the ashes for close to 10 years. On April 27, 2012, Sgt. Gerald W. Zdarsky, with a PGRNY motorcycle escort, was transported over 100 miles from Buffalo to Bath, NY, and interred with full military honors at the National Cemetery there.

Given by: Bill Schaaf, NYS VRP Coordinator

(Click on image to download copy.)

While conducting genealogical research, Victoria Vernau, a niece of WWII Veteran Gerald W. Zdarsky discovered that her uncle had indeed been interred at Bath National Cemetery in New York in 2012. She contacted the cemetery, and the staff indicated that PGRNY may have been involved in his services, so she reached out to them.

Ray Sestak, an Assistant State Captain with PGRNY assisted Victoria with her research and, after some investigation, found that her uncle was one of 12 veterans included in the Veteran Recovery Project mission conducted on April 27 of 2012. Ray spoke with Victoria and told her that her uncle had been interred with respect and full military honors. Needless to say, the family was elated to hear that news.

Ray took it a step further and located a photo album from that particular Veteran Recovery Project mission. Within that album he located and, with the assistance of PGR member Laurie Martin, identified the PGR member that received Mr. Zdarsky’s flag, Mr. Jeffrey Perkins. After speaking with him about this story, Jeff indicated that the flag had been on display in a place of honor in his home, and he was absolutely willing to do whatever it took to get the flag to the family.

During this process, Ray learned that Mr. Zdarsky’s daughter, Virginia Ludwig, had relocated to California. He reached out to his PGR counterpart in the Bay Area PGR, Mr. Henk Zantman to see if a mission to present Mr. Zdarsky’s burial flag to his daughter could be arranged. Henk indicated that he and his PGR members would be honored to do so.

At 12:00 pm, at the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center in Lafayette, California, after almost 12 years and a journey of thousands of miles, Sgt Gerald Zdarsky’s burial flag was presented by the Patriot Guard Riders of California to Gerald’s daughter, Virginia. Assistant State Captain Henk Zantman and Acting Ride Captain Steve Repetto conducted the flag folding and presentation to Mr. Zdarsky’s daughter, Virginia.