Young widow struggles to have husband buried?

Young Iraq War veteran ineligible for burial in North Carolina state cemetery
KMBZ 98.1 FM
JUNE 09, 2018

"At this point, [Amanda] would like her husband to rest in peace, so she is moving forward with Arlington, because she can't handle the process," Lacey said. "She doesn't have the strength to fight it, or keep living."

(NEW YORK) -- The mother-in-law of an Iraq war veteran is pleading for change in North Carolina after her daughter’s late husband was denied burial in a state cemetery.

Capt. James Christian Gallagher, a third-generation member of the United States armed forces, described by his family as having love for his country that "never wavered," is being held in a morgue, waiting to be interred.

"How can the state of North Carolina turn their back on this. The rejection of allowing CPT Gallagher to be buried in North Carolina State Veterans cemetery," Gallagher’s mother-in-law Wendy Lacey wrote on Facebook.

The post, shared more than 100 times on Facebook, condemns North Carolina for its “unconscionable” decision.

Gallagher, a 2008 West Point graduate, was stationed in Fort Lee, Virginia, with his wife and three daughters, when two weeks ago he suddenly passed away at the age of 31.

Amanda, Gallagher’s wife, decided to move to North Carolina, to be near her family in a time of need.

"When my daughter decided that she needed help, it was the right fit to have her husband buried here," Lacey told ABC News.

Initially, Amanda was told her husband could be buried at the North Carolina state veterans, Sandhill Cemetery, but the funeral home denied the family a plot, citing ineligibility.

A free burial plot is provided at a North Carolina State Veterans Cemetery for state veterans; however, they must meet certain residency requirements. Among those requirements is that the veteran has at the time of death been a legal resident of North Carolina for at least 10 years, according to the North Carolina State Veterans Cemetery Program.
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