The remains of 10 American veterans were laid to rest Thursday as part of an effort to honor veterans without families.

“Our ultimate goal really is to make sure that there’s no veterans forgotten on the shelves in funeral homes,” says New Jersey Mission of Honor chairman Francis Carrasco.

New Jersey Mission of Honor collects the cremated remains of some of America’s veterans who may not have had a family to remember them.

“They’ve had civilian jobs, they’ve lived full lives…some of them died at almost 90,” says Chaplain Jerry Skorch. “They were cremated and were just placed on the shelf where no one ever claimed them for burial.

One of the veterans honored Thursday was a U.S. Marine whose remains were unclaimed for 34 years.

"Those ashes are from the body that wore my country's uniform and that's what we respect. That's what we honor,” Skorch says. 

Since forming in 2006, the New Jersey Mission of Honor held services for 252 abandoned veterans. They've also reunited the cremains of more than 300 others with their loved ones.