Fargo Memorial Honor Guard gives final salute to unclaimed veteran

HARWOOD, N.D. (KVRR) — Fargo Memorial Honor Guard gave a final salute to Clifford Brenner, an unclaimed Vietnam veteran.

The honor guard says Brenner served as an Army Sergeant green beret medic from 1967 to 1968.

He earned many awards and medals such as the Combat Field Medical Badge, Parachutist Badge, Vietnamese Parachutist Badge, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device, Vietnam Service Medal, and Sharp-Shooter Badge (M-14).

Fargo National Honor Guard members say finding information on Brenner was difficult due to the condition of his documents.

“We don’t have a lot of details because the document which gives all the information about his service had been carried in his pocket for a long time and was quite ruffled up so it was pretty much illegible in many places,” said former special forces Joe Wallevand.

A 2018 V-A estimate shows there are between 11,500 and 52,600 unclaimed veterans at funeral homes nationwide.