A man who loomed large in Shasta County’s veterans community has passed away. Fred Solanti passed away last Tuesday at the age of 75. Solanti established the Redding-based Missing In America Project, which searches morgues and funeral homes all over the country for the cremated remains of military veterans who have been unclaimed, often because their families have either forgotten them or were unaware of their passing. Once the M.I.A.P. locates the remains, they arrange for their interment in veterans cemeteries with the military honors they deserve. As a non-profit organization the M.I.A.P. is extremely lean with operational costs, with an overhead cost rated at less than 11%. The M.I.A.P. riders over the years delivered the remains of hundreds of veterans and arranged for their funerals. Despite the many services he attended, it was never a routine activity for Solanti, who was known to shed tears at nearly every funeral. The M.I.A.P. slogan is “It’s the right thing to do”.