Strangers Attend Mariens Funeral

[Bekeart]

Hundreds Attend Stranger's Funeral After Plea

Nursing home's request for former Marine Gerry Brooks in Maine was heard

Former US Marine Gerry Brooks died alone at a nursing home in Maine, abandoned and all but forgotten. Then the funeral home posted a notice asking if anyone would serve as a pallbearer or simply attend his burial, per the AP. Within minutes, it was turning away volunteers to carry his casket. A bagpiper came forward to play at the service. A pilot offered to perform a flyover. Military groups across the state pledged a proper sendoff. Hundreds of people who knew nothing about the 86-year-old beyond his name showed up on a sweltering afternoon and gave Brooks a final salute with full military honors Thursday at the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Augusta.

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Hundreds Attend Stranger's Funeral After Plea

Beleart

 

[mckenney99]

I love to hear these stories.
We have a national veterans cemetery at the Dayton VA and the local news outlets readily pick up and report on these calls to honor a passed vet. There always seems to be a great turnout to answer these calls and it makes me still have faith in some of the human race.
But we are a military town and region.

 

[JohnRippert]

Brings tears to my eyes when I see posts like this. You will sometimes see stories on local news stations but almost never on a national level. God speed you, Marine.

 

[pasound]

This choked me up. Semper Fi, Marine!

 

[cherrypointmarine]

You'd be surprised how many vet's go with no one to see them off . My father in law is a Catholic Deacon and a retired E-9 , USAF . He does a lot of funerals at Bushnell National Cemetery here in Fl . He gets lots of calls to do the service and the only people that show up are the Honor Guard from the closest base , if someone called them and the Honor Guard from the VFW . The people that run the cemetery try to make sure no one is buried with no one present , but it doesn't always work out . It's sad that the people who were willing and sometimes did give all end up leaving this earth alone .

 

[Bald1]

This is the United States of America I know and love.