Hundreds Attend Funeral Of WWII Veteran With No Known Family Members

BlutarskyTFM9 years ago

With most of them in their nineties now, we’re losing members of the Greatest Generation — veterans of World War II — every day. While it is sad when we lose these men and women, there is some solace in knowing that they are buried, often with full military honors, surrounded by family, friends, and others wishing to say goodbye one last time. Sadly, there are some WWII veterans who do not have any known family members to attend their funerals. Serina Vine was one of those veterans.

The 91-year-old recently passed away. She had served in naval intelligence for two years towards the end of the war. If that was not enough to make her stand out she, was also fluent in three languages and a graduate of the University of California, something that was uncommon for women in her day.

Vine had spent the last twenty years living in the Department of Veterans Affairs Community Living Center in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, she was homeless for a period of time. Throughout all this time, she did not have any known family members and little was known about her. When she died, few people were expected to attend her funeral. In fact, some thought only four people would show.

That wasn’t good enough for a WWII veteran, though. She deserved better. Word got out over social media that Vine did not have any family members attending the funeral. Quickly, many people pledged to attend to pay their respects. On the day of the funeral, over 200 were there.

Though she did not have any known family members and little was known about her life, those people, complete strangers, came to Serina Vine’s funeral to send her off right — with the respect and honor due to a veteran of one of the nation’s greatest struggles.

Rest in peace, ma’am. Thank you for your service..

[via FOX News]

Image via Shutterstock