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PORTER TOWNSHIP — A Cass County resident has found a way to give one final thanks to four local veterans. 

Cass County Veterans Coordinator Karee Krause announced during the Aug. 17 Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole meeting that four cemetery plots had been gifted to veterans in need. The anonymous donor, a veteran himself, owned the burial plots in East Union Cemetery in Porter Township. 

 “[The plots] will be used for indigent veterans or veterans that do not have the financial means to lay themselves to rest,” Krause said.  

Krause expressed heartfelt appreciation for the donation, pointing out that there are many veterans without the financial ability to pay for a final resting place.  

This donation is one example of the thousands of connections Krause has had with veterans in her two years in this role. In the same time frame, Cass County Veterans Affairs has been able to help Cass County veterans collect a total of $3,077,179.63 in veterans benefits — money they may have otherwise not received.  

“I’m kind of proud of that number for our veterans in the county,” Krause said. “That’s huge revenue that they now have that they’re able to take and spend within our county and make their lives better.” 

Krause, a veteran herself, spends most of her days helping veterans and their survivors and dependents enroll for benefits. Among others, major veteran benefits include: 

• Burial benefits 
• County Relief Fund 
• Disability benefits 
• VA benefits 
• Home loan guarantee certificates of eligibility 
• Michigan laws pertaining to Disabled Veterans 
• Michigan Veterans Trust Fund 
• Survivors/Dependents benefits 
• VA health care enrollment 

She encourages all veterans to schedule an appointment by calling (269) 445-4472 to ensure they are receiving the benefits for which they are eligible.  

Though the veterans office does not solicit donations, Krause said there is one thing those in Cass County can do to help their neighbors who have served our country.  

“People can help by getting the word out that there is an office in Cass that can help them apply for benefits,” she said.  

For more information, visit https://www.casscountymi.org/1262/Veterans-Affairs.