Thousands show up to burial of Vietnam veteran who had no living relatives
“This is certainly a feel good story. Lots and lots of folks showed up for a veteran’s funeral. He had no family, or at least none who could make it, so the good folks of southwest Michigan made sure he didn’t take his last ride alone.” -UpNorth
Thanks UpNorth. It is indeed.
(CNN) — When Wayne Wilson’s friends put a call out for community members to attend his funeral, they were expecting an additional 10 to 15 people to show up.
Instead, about 3,000 people turned out on Wednesday afternoon to pay their respects to the Vietnam War veteran, who did not have any surviving family members.
Wilson, who died May 28 at age 67, served in the army from 1971 to 1977, according to his obituary.
“I was just amazed when I pulled up in the hearse,” Drew Mikel, an intern at the Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Services who helped publicize Wilson’s funeral, told CNN.
“I was driving through a sea of people. I couldn’t believe that many people actually turned out.”
Some who showed up were locals; others had driven from Tennessee, Iowa, Florida and Indiana to Niles, Michigan, to pay their respects, Mikel added.
Full military honors and the military salute were performed for Wilson at the ceremony.
Sergeant-at-Arms of American Legion Post 51 Richard Stuart, who is in charge of the color guard that performed at the ceremony, said Wilson’s was the biggest commemoration he has ever done in 10 years.
Read the rest of the article here: Fox 17
Category: Guest Link, Military issues
Dickweed Goosebumps, UN. Thanks. RIP Soldier Wilson.
I went to a funeral last month for a soldier whose remains were returned to his hometown in the Texas panhandle. He was killed in Belgium in 1945.
Living relatives were sparse, and being only a few hours drive away, I figured I should go. Several hundred were there, from Chamber of Commerce members representing all these little west Texas towns, to those who just hopped off the John Deere.
If anyone has the means and the time, I suggest you make the effort.
Thank you, John Willis Hayes.
Thank you, Wayne Wilson.
Peace to all.
Thanks for representing, 3/10/MED//b.
Believe it not ABC showed a blurb on this last night on the National News. I liked to have fell over dead myself when the story read.
Y’all make sure y’all click on the linky for the rest of the story. I won’t reveal why you won’t regret it. Be sure to check out the comments.
Godspeed and Fare Well Soldier Wayne Wilson. The thousands that showed up to pay respects is indicative of the Honors that many people in this Country still render to those who served. Rest Easy.
Say what you want, but us bikers show up.
RIP elder brother
amen
Yes, you do. The Patriot Guard, as well as several other groups were at the service I attended.
Funny story…
It was a usually hot day. June in Texas. Who’da thunk it. This boy, I’m guessing, 8-9 years old, thought it would be a good idea to lay on a cyndrilical gravestone in the shade.
Before I could break Parade Rest, out of my periphery comes a biker with a water bottle to this kid and whispers in his ear. Would love to have known what he said, cause that boy moved with a quickness probably reserved for getting a new puppy on Christmas morning.
Just one of those things.
Was quite impressed with the Patriot Guard activity/ involvement with the ceremony.
Outstanding.
Damn! Allergies! Someone somewhere is cutting onions. Need my tissues
RIP soldier Wayne Wilson. We’ll meet in Valhalla by and by.
Too bad the public didn’t give a shit about us 45 years ago, when there were a hell of a lot more of us still alive.
Yeah, as I recall, only a couple of folks in the neighborhood seemed to realize I’d been gone for 18 months. Never wanted much to do with the VSOs, especially after I heard form other guys about how they were treated when they attended. Maybe that had something to so with how we were seen by the general public?
Of course, I was in North Oakland, a few blocks from the Berzerkley city limits, too.
Well, rgr769, I am here, and I give a shit.
Thanks, but I am talking about our civilian population in 1970’s and 80’s.
Noted.
I think we should go when we can.
My opinion. I may be wrong.
And I will stfu.
Usually Hondo’s turf, but I don’t think he’ll mind me standing in for him, once in a while. UpNorth was kind enough to send me the link, and I just got to it today. Funny thing, as I slice and dice and research and amend my posts, I rarely have the time to actually READ the whole thing. Ironic. In this case, 5/17 is right. Follow the link for a pretty vile comment, but also a surprising pingback.
So, I guees the commentor did not attend?
More than likely he didn’t, 26. They usually don’t have the balls to do so. They just hide behind the keyboard in momma’s basement, waiting for her to bring them another bowl of Cheetos.
What I find shocking, is that the web site posts -only- two items below the article: the utterly vile turdpost, and a link here.
I find it hard to believe there was only that one post, and no replies. In other words, the web site owner -wants- it that way.
I would speculate that it will drive clicks to their site, and drive all the flame wars here. If that seems excessive, look at how the site is designed to lengthen your stay by slow-loading a bunch of crap, which also generates clicks just from you sitting there watching the crawler bar for the page load.
Shitty way to use a vet’s funeral.
Trying to find the vile comment and the ping. (Awaiting incoming on not recognizing the forementioned…)
The page loads very slow.
Found it.
Man a weapon. Grab an aid bag.
Hop on on sub.(Sorry, Army here, visited a few battleships, never a sub. I was a short little shit who got banged around in a 113. Inside a submarine? How does one get inside a submarine?)
If I am part of the “evil masses”,
that is a great thing.
Got my Dad a case to take his .22 to a gunsmith, work it out, and fire that sumbitch on a regular basis. He was a kid, he had to eat, and it was money.
29A Stevens if anyone is interested.
I have done a lot of research on this gun, but would appreciate any info from ya’ll on TAH. Thanks
‘Hop on A sub’…
It’s all right, 3/10. I hopped on a sub once or twice, the better to know my targets.
‘Claustrophobic’ doesn’t do it justice. And the trick where they string a line hull to hull nice and taut on the surface, and laughingly point out how much it has bowed at depth, does little to restore confidence.
Yes, I know there are more airplanes in the sea than subs in the sky, what goes up must come down. But Bubblehead, what goes down doesn’t necessarily have to come back up again.
*grin*