NASHVILLE (WTVF/CNN) - A large crowd, estimated to be around 300 people, attended the funeral of a U.S. Marine veteran in Tennessee in an effort to make sure the man would not be forgotten.
Vietnam veteran Leo Stokley died Sunday at the age of 69. He had no family to attend his funeral, so a call went out on Facebook for support.
The response was overwhelming. Hundreds showed up to pay their respects to Stokley.
"You start at the first of the week, nobody knows who this guy is, and you end up with a family of probably 300 people here, fellow veterans and friends of veterans, that sent him off in proper fashion,” said U.S. Air Force veteran Bob Counter.
For other veterans, the only ones who can truly understand the struggles of a fellow vet, it was an unexpected but amazing response.
"We're all brothers; it doesn't matter what war: we're brothers,” said U.S. Army veteran Walter Weakley.
Stokley was laid to rest at the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery in Nashville.
Counter helped provide the funeral home with Stokely’s military discharge certificate to ensure he got the proper military honors for his burial.
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