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What do we owe those who served?
Former U.S. Marine Gerry Brooks was 86 years old and alone when he entered a nursing home in Augusta, Maine. A week later, he was dead. When his next of kin was contacted, they declined the offer to take his body and bury it.
The funeral home director posted a notice asking for pallbearers and perhaps a a few people to pay their respects and honor the former Marine.
The response was phenomenal.
Within minutes of posting the notice, the funeral home was turning away volunteer pallbearers.
A bagpiper came forward and offered to play. A pilot said he would perform a flyover. An honor guard was formed made up of veterans from across the state.
And hundreds of people who never heard of Gerry Brooks came to the funeral. He received full military honors Thursday at the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta.
It was 40 miles from the funeral home in Belfast to the cemetery in Augusta. Brook’s body was escorted the entire way by Patriot Guard Riders on motorcycles.
“Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars paid tribute with a 21-gun salute. Volunteers held American flags next to the casket while a crane hoisted a huge flag above the cemetery entrance”, reports the Associated Press.
