When 80-year-old Billy Aldridge, a Marine Corps veteran from the Vietnam War, passed away, the caretakers at his senior community could not find any records of his family. According to CNN, the funeral home in charge of organizing the burial ceremony for Aldridge wanted to make sure that the veteran received a proper sendoff. The funeral home partnered with local veterans organizations in Indianapolis, Indiana, to find out more about the veteran.
Fox 59 News reported that Aldridge was awarded the good conduct medal during his service, but no one was able to find any relatives. The veterans organizations reached out to the community via news reports and social media to encourage people to attend the former servicemember's funeral.
"This was just unbelievably wonderful," Tim Elson, a Vietnam Veteran who attended the funeral, told Fox 59 News. "That the community would come together and remember a fellow veteran, not knowing him, not knowing anything about him."
Over 1,000 people attended Aldridge's funeral, including military members from across the country and local first responders. The funeral home even had to change venues for the service due to the overwhelming turnout.