Paulie Narson: Burying Indigent Veterans With Respect

BY BOB HOPKINS

Growing up in a Jewish-Italian neighborhood in the Bronx, Paul “Paulie” Narson learned love of country and service from his father, a World War II veteran who was awarded two Silver Stars and two Purple Hearts. It was only natural that the son would follow in those footsteps and join the military. That commitment to service has translated into VVA leadership positions at the chapter and state levels.

Narson left New York High School of Printing before his senior year and enlisted in the Army in September of 1959. After training at Fort Dix and Fort Jackson, he was assigned to a heavy weapons platoon in Germany, serving with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Battle Group, which eventually became part of the 24th Infantry Division.

In October 1961 Narson found himself seated in the lead Jeep that precipitated the one-week standoff between U.S. and Soviet forces at Checkpoint Charlie.

“We were told we were going to knock down the wall if we had to,” Narson said. “Not a good place for a Jewish kid from the Bronx to be.” Fortunately, both sides pulled back. Narson earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service during the Berlin crisis and reached the rank of First Sergeant.

After his honorable discharge in August 1965 Narson worked in the auto glass industry until he retired for health reasons.

Soon after he got out of the Army Narson joined several veterans organizations, but found them lacking. In 1989, while attending a street fair, he saw three Vietnam veterans manning a booth and approached them.

“I just wanted to thank them for their service,” Narson said. “I told them I hadn’t served in Vietnam and wasn’t in combat. They told me they didn’t care: I had served and that was what counted. One of the men was John Rowan, now VVA’s national president. I joined Chapter 32 and felt at home. It was very family-oriented and committed to helping veterans. I felt totally welcomed. No one cared that I was an era veteran. It was never brought up. I never claimed to be anything more than I am.”

Since joining VVA Narson has attended four National Conventions and five Leadership Conferences. Despite some challenging medical issues, he has held many positions at the chapter and state council levels. He is now the president of Chapter 32 in Queens, N.Y.

“I work closely with my Executive Board,” he said. “We operate as a team. We have an office, a small bus, a paid service officer, and we participate in numerous activities to help veterans.”

Rowan describes Narson as “one of those stalwarts in VVA. He just keeps plugging away.” Tom Corbin and Paul Feddern, fellow chapter members, echo Rowan’s words. Corbin says Narson is “a veteran’s kind of guy, always willing to help.”

The project that Narson is proudest of is the burial of unclaimed bodies of veterans who are indigent, homeless, or have no families. In 2008, led by past President Pat Toro, Narson, Corbin, and Feddern, the chapter worked with the New York City Medical Examiners office and the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs to circumvent a myriad of city regulations to be officially designated as an “Organizational Friend of the Indigent.”

New York City has a law against burying veterans in potter’s field, yet there is no national cemetery within New York’s five boroughs. As an Organizational Friend of the Indigent, the Chapter can transport them across jurisdictional lines and bury them at the Calverton National Cemetery, sixty-five miles from the chapter’s office.

When notified of an unclaimed veteran, the Hess-Miller Funeral Home takes possession of the body, prepares it, and Narson notifies the membership. Flowers are provided by Grand Florist in Middle Village.

Chapter members assemble at the funeral home, salute the casket as it is placed in the hearse, and then follow it to Calverton, where a service with military honors is conducted. The burial flag is presented to a member of Chapter 32 and it is then transported to the chapter home, where it is put in a case and hung on the wall. More than sixty flags are displayed in a place of honor.