May 30, 2020 – West Bend, WI – The West Bend Veterans Color Guard stood at attention as a flags flapped in a brisk wind on Friday afternoon at Myrhum-Patten Funeral Home.
West Bend Police and the Washington County Sheriff lead a military funeral procession from the county morgue to the funeral home as military honors were soon underway for Petty Officer First Class James V. Pritchett.
The 63-year-old Pritchett was found dead in his apartment May 14, 2020 in West Bend. His cremated remains went unclaimed.
Chief Deputy Medical Examiner Craig Garbisch discovered Pritchett was a retired Navy veteran and deserved an appropriate send off.
A special memorial service was held. Germantown Police Chaplain Greg Young presided over the service; about 60 people turned out to pay their respects and honor the memory of Pritchett.
“A note of thanks to Craig Garbisch for the work he has done to ensure PO1 Pritchett has an appropriate send off. The work he has done of his own volition and in his own time exemplifies all of the Core Values; Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Collaboration, Innovation and Optimism,” said Robert A. Schafer, Washington County Medical Examiner Lead Investigator.
Schafer said if Garbisch had not stepped in “Pritchett’s body would have likely joined the ranks of the unclaimed.”
