When Willie Hayes’s family began arranging his burial at a veterans’ cemetery, they were shocked to learn that the body of a man with the same name, Social Security number and military honors was already there.

Now the family wants the impostor, who was buried in 2003, removed from Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island.

“If he didn’t serve in the Army, he shouldn’t be there. It’s not fair to the veterans. He stole my brother’s identity,” Hayes’s brother, Sylvester, said in a telephone interview Monday.

The real Hayes, who died September 30 at age 59, was buried Friday, but only after the family and a funeral home in Harlem provided Calverton with documentation of his military service, including the medals he earned. Calverton, which is run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, issued a statement Monday saying it was looking into the matter. “This was an unusual occurrence for Calverton National Cemetery and our staff will continue to work with county, state and federal government officials to determine the exact identity of the other Willie Hayes,” the statement said. The cemetery said it had verified the information for the Willie Hayes who died last month and authorized the funeral service and burial last week. A call for comment to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was answered with a recording .