No Family. No friends. He was all alone.

I read the news this morning as I always do. So depressing as it always is. A train accident in New York, tornadoes in the south, a dead body found in a frozen pond in Colorado…..and then I came across an article that was Good!! It was moving, encouraging, uplifting and I just had to share it.

When I think of teenagers as a whole, I think of disrespect, rebellion, immaturity at a very high level, etc…. I do realize there is still a minority though, that wants to do the right thing and set the right example. The following story is about six young men who left their comfort zone and honored a fellow countryman after his death.

His name was Jerry Wayne Pino. He died on December 12th, in Long Beach, Mississippi. He was 70 years old. His biography was pretty sparse. He was born in Baton Rouge and had joined the navy in New Orleans. He was a petty officer third class in Vietnam. There were no family and no friends listed. He was all alone and died all alone. How very sad!

His body lay unclaimed for several weeks at a funeral home. No one stepped forward to claim the body.

There were two workers at the funeral home who were very unhappy about this and wanted to give him a proper send off. They wanted to give him what he deserved. It was Christmas break and students were not in class but one of the workers texted her son. She told him about her desire to give this man a proper burial. Her son texted some of his friends and within a matter of minutes, six young men had volunteered to be pallbearers. Pallbearers at a stranger’s funeral. One of the 17 year old’s said “it was the right thing to do. He served our country. He fought for our rights. For him to be buried with nobody that was just sad.”

They buried him on a Tuesday. An honor guard stood at attention. The funeral home worker attended the service and cried through the entire thing. She said there was no one in attendance except those six boys.

The flag that draped Jerry’s coffin was presented to the six young men. I have attended military funerals and it is a very somber, emotionally moving moment when that flag is presented to a family member.

The flag is currently on display at Long Beach High School where it is enclosed in glass. There is a plaque commemorating Jerry Pino.

The parents of these boys have instilled values they should be proud of. They could have showed indifference that is more typical of their generation. The man they honored in death that day will never know of the respectful deed, but to all of us who read the story and pass it on it is a valuable lesson. No one should have to die alone and I believe all those who have served this great country deserve to be honored in death as well as life.