When An Abandoned Veteran With No Family Passed Away, His Community Came Together To Say Goodbye
His death allowed people to show just how much they cared.
Kira_Yan / Shutterstock Everyone deserves to be honored at the end of their lives. Unfortunately, some people lack the family support typically needed to ensure that happens.
In the case of one abandoned veteran, a community came together to make sure that the deceased was remembered properly.
The strength of a community and the kindness of strangers united to give a Marine veteran who passed away alone the sendoff he deserved.
According to the Associated Press, “Former U.S. Marine Gerry Brooks died alone at a nursing home in Maine, abandoned and all but forgotten.”
Local news station WABI reported that Brooks passed away at 86 years old. When he died, no next of kin came forward to take care of the funeral arrangements.
So, the funeral home that took charge of Brooks’ arrangements, Riposta Funeral Home, reached out to the community for help. They asked if anyone would like to attend his funeral or serve as a pallbearer.
“Within minutes, it was turning away volunteers to carry his casket,” the Associated Press reported.
The services included a motorcycle procession, a flyover, a bagpipe player, and a gun salute. Multiple organizations, such as Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Maine Army National Guard, the Marine Corps League, and the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services, were involved in the funeral, making sure that Brooks received the respect he deserved.
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WABI spoke to another Marine veteran, Jordan Elston, who said, “Unfortunately, this is not the first time we’ve had this situation come up, and as somber as it is, it’s very heartwarming to see the veteran community explode to take care of one of our own.”
“No service member should have their final farewell by themself,” Elston continued.
Another local news station, WSAZ, reported the Maine Army National Guard’s Philip Dow “led a prayer and spoke during the burial.” He said, “Being able to honor them in this time, to be able to preside over the committal, to be able to be with them as their remains are put away for one last time and placed is truly amazing. It’s overwhelming.”
What this community did to come together for Brooks is truly touching. Unfortunately, many veterans face this reality.
Veterans’ unique situations can present challenges when it comes to family relationships.
No one truly understands what each veteran has been through. Each has an individual story they have lived through and can choose to tell or keep private.
The rare nature of veterans’ experiences can drive a wedge between them and their families. Veterans Families United explained, “The veteran’s wartime-learned behaviors that are being acted out at home start to change how members of the family and friends act and react to the veteran and slowly begin to erode the relationships.”
Although they are certainly not to blame for it, the way veterans act in response to what they’ve experienced can make it difficult for them to connect with family members and can strain those relationships.
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There is more than just anecdotal evidence to back this up. In fact, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health, “It is increasingly clear that wartime deployment is a family matter. Almost half of today’s active duty forces are parents, and continuing hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan ensure that growing numbers of military families will experience repeated cycles of separation in a context of danger that may span across years of each family’s development.”
As family difficulties can arise from military service it could explain why no one was there for Brooks when the time came. Thankfully, his community rallied to grant him the peace he deserved.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.