According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, nearly 50,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. When homeless veterans die, many are buried alone with no one there to honor their lives and the sacrifices they made for our country.
That’s where an incredible volunteer program comes into play, and it’s touching hearts all over the country. Dozens of students from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School are now volunteering as pallbearers for homeless veterans who would otherwise go without a proper burial. The all-boys school pairs with local funeral homes to organize funerals for these fallen military members in a show of dignity and respect.
Student Leonard Froehlich told The Telegraph, “There is no better way to pay our respects than by being pallbearers. We honor these service members by being with them in their last moments on earth, and that in itself is a privilege.”
Read on to find out what happened when these teens gave three veterans the proper goodbyes they so deserve…
Screenshot / USA Today
Dozens of patriot riders came out to show their respect for three men they’d never met — homeless veterans whose bodies went unclaimed at the county morgue. But they weren’t the only strangers on-hand at the funeral.
Facebook / U of D Jesuit High School
High school students from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School volunteered to serve as pallbearers for fallen veterans who might not otherwise had received a proper funeral.
Facebook / U of D Jesuit High School
Earlier this month, more than 50 kindhearted teens served as pallbearers in their first funeral for the homeless after taking part in a training program to prepare them.
ABC / U of D Jesuit High School
Photos of the students carrying the caskets have since gone viral. The school says it’s humbled by the coverage of the pallbearer ministry, along with countless comments received from active and retired members of the U.S. Military and their loved ones.
Screenshot / USA Today
The students believe everyone deserves a proper burial, whether or not their loved ones can be there to say goodbye.
If a veteran’s family can’t be located for 90 days after his or her death, caskets are provided by the Dignity Memorial Network. Historically, it’s been difficult to find pallbearers to carry them — until now.
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