Thousands answer call to attend ‘unaccompanied’ Air Force vet’s Texas funeral
The funeral for Air Force veteran Joseph Walker in Texas Monday drew thousands of people who responded to an appeal for mourners. (Texas General Land Office )By Robert Gearty | Fox News
To augment Dave’s moving post, here:
Unclaimed Veterans Buried with Honor and Dignity, Thanks to Strangers
Found here: https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=84430. ..we have another example of good people attending the funeral of a stranger.
In Texas, the Veteran’s Cemetery in Killeen asked for volunteers to attend the funeral of “unaccompanied” Air Force veteran Joseph Walker, and the request went viral.
The response was overwhelming.
Thousands of strangers responded to an urgent appeal to attend Monday’s funeral for an Air Force veteran from Texas.
The Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen appealed for supporters to attend the funeral of “unaccompanied” veteran Joseph Walker in a Facebook post that went viral over the weekend.
“We are overwhelmed at all this love and support. We do NOT leave Veterans behind,” the cemetery wrote on Facebook after the service.
The crowd at “unaccompanied” veteran Joseph Walker’s funeral in Texas included an Air Force unit from Fort Hood. (Texas General Land Office )
The line to get into the cemetery was miles long and initial reports indicated some 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles were in the line, KWTX-TV reported.
Walker, of Dale, Texas, was 72 when he died of natural causes Nov. 19. He served in the Air Force from 1964 to 1968.
After his death, his family contacted a funeral home in Austin to arrange for a funeral service but then could not be reached, funeral director Gilbert Cavazos told Fox News.
Joseph Walker died in November 2018. (All Faiths North)
“We made every attempt,” Cavazos said.
Read the rest of this amazing story here: Fox News
Hat tip to Poetrooper for the link. Thanks again, buddy.
Category: Air Force, Veterans in the news
Fair winds and following seas Mr. Walker. It is good to see so much toxic camaraderie and patriotism in one spot.
This is wonderful stuff and it began with a call out which had an overwhelming response. I remain interested in a national resource for Veterans who pass without families to provide a final farewell. We’ll see. In the meantime, it’s great to see that people will take time away from their own lives to say thanks to Veterans who gave of their lives on behalf of those folks even if, as in Mr Walker’s case, it was so long ago.
“I remain interested in a national resource for Veterans who pass without families to provide a final farewell”
Been on my mind since that recent post.
I ask myself “who will weep for me?”
Not sure how I can help but I am willing to travel. No veteran should be interred unnoticed.
I’m still not sure how to best approach this and I’m all ears for ideas for people who can get things done through bureaucracies. For instance, is this something that should first be suggested to the AL/VFW or directly to a critter?
26: If you want to commo with me regarding this, please reference this comment to Dave or AW1Ed for my email. Then we can bandy this about.
Easiest way, Cav, is for me to shoot GDC’s email to you, but I require his approval first.
I’m not affiliated with the Patriot Riders but they would seem to already have some sort of network in place, in terms of knowledge of veterans’ funerals.
I’ll put that on the list, GDC. By the way, feel free to avail yourself of my email as well just because.
I was thinking the hierarchy of funeral directer, cemetery director and VA would have this covered but apparently not.
So where to intervene. Before the funeral director would be ideal in a case such as the ME alerting him in lieu of any known family..
Family searches would be needed.
Lawers…..
I’ll poke around a bit while I’m trapped in the polar vortex.
So I poked around and found some encouraging info in the first four results of a search.
Sent this earlier but I must have fat fingered it into who knows where.
http://socalveteran.com/vwf.htm
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/01/17/veterans-without-family-buried-west-tennessee-veterans-cemetery/2608399002/
https://www.facebook.com/VeteransWithoutFamily
https://myfox8.com/2019/01/18/nj-funeral-home-asks-community-to-mourn-after-vietnam-veteran-dies-without-family/
Seems there are a lot of people involved in this over the years.
Not sure what unserved part remains other than a place for getting the word out to all concerened.
Lots of good people out there.
I followed up twice with too many links and it all went to the polar vortex of Admin.
Might be a while……..
And of course… there it is.
^word^ I’m still wid ya Bro. I don’t have the book of face, but Sister, Brother, Daughter do. I snagged this story off Fox the other day and e mailed it to them and they helped do the viral thingie. Brother was a wing wiper (27 1/2 yr). Admin has my permission to share my email address, hell I got three I can use.
Godspeed and Fare Well to AF Veteran Joseph Walker. BZ to all that came out in person and who stirred up the interest for him.
To his biological “family” who didn’t seem to care….spit!
Gotta come to TAH to find some uplifting story about this. EVERY….DAMN…..OUTLET it the country is blaring about the ‘hate crime’ against the gay dude in Chicago’s “MAGA COUNTRY” “huh”? Kudos to everyone who came to support these veteran’s at the final call.
Update on the “attack” on that young fellow shows two guys walking on the same street but nothing indicating an attack.
Chicago is a gay-friendly city, so the idea that a self-professed gay black guy would be treated as he said he was seems off, especially with no such thing showing on surveillance videos.
Read the same story the other day, but it was a bit different.
His Daughter and Stepdaughter missed his funeral, but were given the flag that draped his coffin. In the link, there are pictures of them at his gravesite:
“Family of Unaccompanied Veteran Misses Funeral While Waiting In Line With Thousands That Arrived Due To Viral Social Media Post”:
http://www.kxxv.com/story/39862325/family-of-unaccompanied-veteran-misses-funeral-while-waiting-in-line-with-thousands-that-arrived-due-to-viral-social-media-post
KILLEEN, TX (KXXV)
“The family of an unaccompanied Air Force veteran missed the funeral while waiting in line with thousands that arrived after a viral social media post.”
“Joseph Walker, 72, was buried at 10 a.m. in front of nearly 2,000 people at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery on Monday.”
“The family did not know about the funeral until Monday morning.”
“I turned the TV on and the second thing that came on the news was about a veteran being buried with no family and when they said the name and I saw the picture my heart just kind of dropped,” said Angela Sheffield, Walker’s stepdaughter.”
“They had done surgery on some cancer, and when they opened (him) up, it spread it through his whole…,” said Plonie Williams, Walker’s daughter.”
“Walker’s stepdaughter and daughter shared they thought their father had been buried in December without them present.”
“And so what we decide to do regardless of the circumstances or situation, is to make sure these families are honored with honorable and dignified services,” shared Eric Brown, Deputy Director of the Texas State Veterans Cemetery Program.”
“The family did not make it in time to attend the graveside service, because the lines of mourners was too long, however, they were able to take home Mr. Walker’s flag. The two said they are grateful for the outpouring of support.
“Thank you so much. God bless you all,” said Sheffield.
Thanks for this update/addon AnotherPat. Had not seen this. We can always count on you. I may and or may not retract part of my “..spit”
godawgs/rtr/goarmybeatnavy(again)
You are welcome, 5th! 😊
Just thought it was strange how his daughters thought he was buried in December, found out about his Funeral on TV and all of the sudden “showed up”…
Also wondered why they did not contact the funeral home ASAP if they saw his story on TV…
Perhaps they thought he may get a “free” funeral if they ignored the situation?
Who knows…your comment may be spot on.😉
The comments above about his daughters are just my personal perceptions as I do not know “The Rest of The Story”..
😎
Catch the tailwind, Mr. Walker. Full speed ahead, and straight on ’til morning.
Here are some more photos from Joseph Walkers funeral.
Off you go into the wild blue yonder, brother.
https://www.statesman.com/photogallery/TX/20190128/NEWS/128009997/PH/1
At least a couple times a month I act as a veteran escort for patients who die in our VA Hospice. (No Veteran Dies Alone program)
I am on call this week for one of our younger veterans in his last days of life. I get called any time day or night.
The cemetery director put it out on social media and it went viral.
My wife’s comment as we were driving up was “I hope we can’t get in.”
It took me a moment to understand her comment.
There was in fact a huge line of cars on both sides of the highway. Cars were parked in fields adjacent to the cemetery.
The Central Texas State Veteran’s Cemetery is right outside Fort Hood so there was bound to be some military/veteran presence. I was just surprised at how many. Even had police officers from Dallas come down on their day off.
Cool. Thanks for the report and, although you probably don’t want to hear it, thanks to you and yours for being there.
How did I know at least one TAH’er would be present? Thank you and your wife for taking the time to pay final respects to a fellow Veteran.
BZ Stacy0311. Glad y’all could and did make it. I was pleasantly surprised that CBS had a blurb on the evening news about the services. There may be hope for the commie bastard system yet.