LONGMONT, Colo.—The Boulder County Coroner’s Office is investigating after the Longmont Veterans of Foreign Wars turned over an old coffin used in ceremonies to honor the dead that possibly contains the remains of a frontier cowboy or an American Indian.
VFW Cmdr. Cliff Elrod said the remains and coffin were used in an annual ritual for the “Last Man’s Club,” a group within the VFW that honors those who died in war. He said that during the ritual, the casket containing the bones would be used to represent those who died.
He said the ceremony was basically a dinner to honor the dead.
Longmont Cmdr. Jeff Satur says the remains appear to be between 100 and 200 years old. The veterans group believes the remains were recovered on an archaeological dig in either eastern Colorado or western Kansas in the 1940s or 1950s. Satur said the archaeologist was a member of the VFW and donated it to the group.
According to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office, because the remains were possibly those of a Native American, it had to be reported to the Colorado State Archeologist’s Office. An examination of the remains on Tuesday concluded that they are not likely Native American, but a final determination will be made after a physical anthropologist can examine the bones, police said.
The remains were kept at the Longmont VFW, in a coffin that was provided for them in the 1950s, Satur said. VFW officials were worried about the condition of the remains after September flooding made the coffin moldy and the VFW turned the coffin over to authorities.
Elrod said if authorities approve, the remains will be cremated and kept in an urn for use in future “Last Man Standing” rituals.
Elrod said he was inducted into the club last year to represent Vietnam era veterans, the Longmont Times-Call reported Wednesday ().
The VFW ceremony dates back at least to 1957, when records indicate a local newspaper covered an event for “Longmont’s Original Overseas Service Last Man’s Club.”
The head of the club was called the “head skull,” the vice president was called the “cross bones,” the secretary was known as the “grave digger,” and other officers were known as the sexton and “coffin keeper,” records indicate.
“At this time there are no known suspicious circumstances in relation to these remains,” Satur wrote in a prepared statement.
Police are reviewing hand-written histories from VFW records and working with members to learn more about the remains.
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Information from: Daily Times-Call,
