When the time comes, every single soldier deserves to be given a befitting funeral. A good and respectful farewell is something that should be given to you if you have given your life to serve your country.
There are those veterans who do not have family or friends around them when they pass away, but they do not have to be buried alone. After the passing of a veteran of the United States Air Force, a group of kind high school kids volunteered to carry his coffin.
Ralph Lambert, who had served in the United States Air Force in the past, passed away on February 8 in Louisiana, according to KALB. He was 94 years old. It is unfortunate that he did not have any friends or family who were able to attend his burial.
Over the course of more than twenty years, from 1950 to 1971, Lambert served his country, and it was disheartening to consider the possibility that the veteran might be laid to rest without anything to honor his memory.
In spite of this, Jordan Marks, a local high school baseball coach, stepped in to assist the veteran after learning about the circumstances surrounding his situation. During the funeral, he requested that six players of his team, all of whom were seniors at Menard High School, attend the funeral and carry Lambert’s coffin.
In addition to being an occasion for this coach to honor a veteran, it was also a chance for him to educate his players important life skills that they could use outside of the coaching environment.
During an interview with KALB radio station, Marks said, “I try to teach them not only the game of baseball but also the game of life, and whenever we can serve a community member or especially somebody who served for our country, we are more than happy to do it.”
On the day of the funeral, six seniors, Ashton Veade, Cameron Kinder, Jacob Giordano, Jackson Ford, Ashton Brodnax, and Hunter Foster, were responsible for transporting the coffin that was covered with the flag to the Central Louisiana Veterans Cemetery.
In spite of the fact that they had no prior acquaintance with the veteran, it was an honor that they will never forget.
“It was an honor for us, seniors, to be able to go out there, especially with somebody who had no family and friends,” Giordano said in an interview with KALB-TV.
Cameron Kinder expressed his regret by saying, “I felt sorry, and overall, I’m just glad that we had the opportunity to go out there.” We all have family and friends, but we tend to forget that there is someone who does not have such things.
It is not unusual to hear stories like this; the unfortunate reality is that some veterans pass away by themselves, without the opportunity to have a military burial. Veterans organizations all around the United States, such as the Missing in American Project, undertake the mission of locating veterans who have not been claimed and ensuring that they are provided with appropriate burial rituals.
To our great relief, six kind high school students made certain that this veteran’s funeral was not a solitary affair.
Many thanks to these seasoned individuals for paying tribute to this soldier during his burial. When he found out that someone cared about him in the end, we are certain that he would have been pleased.