A Little Rock Vietnam veteran is set to be buried Tuesday, Dec. 18. But because he has no known family, Arkansas Military Funeral Honors has put a call on social media asking community members to accompany the veteran while he is laid to rest.
66-year-old Gary Younggren passed away on Dec. 3 and will be buried on Dec. 18 at the Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery. The burial service will start at 1 p.m.
Anyone who wants to attend is welcome to the burial. You don’t have to be active military or a veteran. All they are asking is that you wear business casual attire.
“We’ve had several funerals in the past where our team members were the only people there,” said Jeffery Morgan, the Arkansas Military Funeral Honors Coordinator.
Moran said those days have been put behind them thanks to social media.
“We’ve had a thousand people show up to some of these, which is great that nobody is being buried alone,” said Morgan.
He said when a vet who has no known family passes, the Military Funeral Honors puts out a call on social media asking for community members to attend the burial service.
“The last three or four that we have had, we’ve always had great support and had a lot of people show up,” said Morgan.
“For a veteran, being alone is probably the worst possible feeling you can have,” said Patricia Terry, a veteran and member of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.
Among other things, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association provides a motorcycle motorcade for veteran’s funerals across the state.
“Basically, they are our brother or sister, so for us, it’s a show of respect,” said Terry.
She also said it’s also a good way to make sure their memory is kept alive.
“That’s why we want to make sure that we are there so that we don’t forget who they are and that we recognize their service,” said Terry.
For those who can’t attend the burial service, there are still ways you can show support.
“Contact the funeral home that is actually taking care of the service and if they want to donate to the funeral home that would be greatly appreciated. The funeral home a lot of times absorbs the cost for these veterans,” said Morgan.