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| WW2 Vet Inmate Gets 21 Gun Salute |
| By aurorasentinel.com/ |
| Published: 08/25/2010 |
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DENVER | An honor guard of veterans fired a 21-gun salute Tuesday at a national cemetery for a World War II serviceman who died in prison while serving time for killing his wife. About 30 people attended the service at Fort Logan National Cemetery for Raymond R. Sawyer, 83. Some veterans said Sawyer, a former Marine who served in the Pacific Theater, shouldn't be buried at Fort Logan because of the criminal case and because of allegations that he falsely claimed to have received a valor medal. The only conviction that disqualifies veterans from burial in a national cemetery is a capital crime, according to federal law. Sawyer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Arizona, and officials there said the case wasn't considered a capital offense. A summary of the law on a Veterans Affairs Department website doesn't mention contested medal claims. Sawyer died Aug. 11 in a Tucson, Ariz., penitentiary, where he was serving 13 years. The Arizona Department of Corrections said the cause of his death is still under investigation. Read More. |
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