The Final Salute

02/21/2026

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02/21/2026

Remember when we told you about Allen? His military records took quite a while to locate and once we did we found out that he served in the Marine reserves, which unfortunately does not make him eligible for burial at Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

However- we are so thankful for the 6 years he gave and he will be honorably laid to rest on Saturday April 25th along side our Civilian Unclaimed Burial. He will receive a folded flag and taps- and we hope that while this service looks a little different that the veteran community will show up and help us honor Allen🇺🇸

Every veteran that we honor at the Final Salute has a unique story - and why it is so important to tell it. Allen was born in Ceder Falls and after high school joined the Marine Corps.

He lived quite the life and enjoyed sky diving, hang gliding and was a hot air balloon pilot. At the age of 64 in 2004 he passed away at home. Years later after the death of his brother, and family was cleaning out his belongings they found Allen's urn. Unsure of what to do- the family reached out to us- asking if we could help honor his military service all these years later. Of course we said yes.

Allen will be laid to rest on October 3rd along side his brothers and sisters in arms.

02/20/2026

I love seeing our story being shared- and while I am so humbled by this I only play a small role. The reason these stories get told is because I am supported by the best team.

I don’t say thank you enough to the incredible Final Salute Board! They all give so much time and effort to this organization!

And to the community that continues to support us- thank you!

Funeral director Lanae Strovers turned a shocking discovery—hundreds of unclaimed urns into a powerful mission. Through The Final Salute, she and her community are ensuring that veterans without family still receive the dignity, story, and honors they deserve.

🔗 Link in the comments

02/17/2026

Use Venmo to connect with The Final Salute () - Lay to rest unclaimed Urns

02/16/2026

🇺🇸 Presidents’ Day Reminder 🇺🇸

Today is a beautiful opportunity to share something many families don’t realize…

Every eligible veteran is entitled to a Presidential Memorial Certificate — an engraved certificate signed by the current President of the United States. It is a simple yet powerful expression of our nation’s gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

✨ Families can request multiple copies at no cost
✨ It can be requested at any time — even years later
✨ Funeral homes are often happy to help with the application

We love seeing these certificates framed alongside flags, medals, and photos — a lasting reminder that their service will never be forgotten.

As we reflect this Presidents’ Day, it’s one more way we can ensure that every veteran’s story is honored and remembered. ❤️🤍💙

02/14/2026

We were invited to present TWICE this morning 🇺🇸

First- we were invited to the American Legion Mid Winter Conference and then down the hall for the and shared with the American Legion Auxiliary.

We are always so honored when we are asked to share our mission!

02/11/2026

We are working on the service for the Unclaimed Civilians service for Saturday April 25.

While this will be a very different event from the veterans service we still would like the community to attend!! We will announce the details soon but this will be in the morning, and we plan to have a procession.

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We are looking for a musician that is able to play 1 or 2 songs at the cemetery. If this is something you would be interested please reach out! 🌟🌟🌟

More to come!!!

02/09/2026

I have no choice but to make this letter public as the sender did not sign their name and the return address is not real. I would absolutely love the opportunity to talk to the person who sent this to me but I have no ability to discuss their ideas and suggestions as they sent it anonymously.

I appreciate their feedback, some of their comments are valid and some of their ideas are things that can be explored…BUT…I have always and will always plan, operate and proceed with TRANSPARENCY, OPENNESS & DISCUSSION.

I would appreciate those same principles in return from ANYONE involved in our Final Salute services, including the author of this letter.

If the person that wrote this letter is invested enough to offer these suggestions then I feel they should be invested enough to not go to the lengths that they have to send an anonymous letter.

I am open to conversation, ideas, suggestions and even constructive criticism but that is impossible when you don’t offer me the opportunity to respond. If the letter writer is willing to step forward from the cloak of secrecy and anonymity they should know that my inbox, private messages and/or phone are always open and available.

Until then I am finding it very difficult to accept that your feedback comes from a good place when your good place is being kept in the dark with no name or ability to respond.

02/08/2026

We are at almost 4 thousand followers and our goal is to make it to 5 thousand this year!! We want to spread what we are doing and this is a great way!

So how can you help?

Go to our page, click on followers, hit invite, and ask your friends to join! Help us make our goal this year!!!!

Working together as a community to ensure that no one goes unclaimed. The ultimate goal is to reunite each unclaimed urn with family - if that is not an option the second is to secure a final resting place.

02/06/2026

I am very rarely at a loss for words- but we are so humbled to show you to video from the 2025 Unclaimed Veterans Service.

Thank you to Sean Wilson and his incredible talents capturing what this day meant to the community and to us

 We are forever grateful to each and every one of you who attended the service supported us and continue to support us join us this year Saturday, October 3, 2026 for the next Unclaimed veteran service.