Thousands of people turned up for the funeral for a Vietnam War veteran when hardly anyone from his family and friends attended.
Wayne Wilson passed away in May at the age of 76 years and had no one from his surviving family members. His friends then decided to have a small service of ten people. When Drew Mickel, an intern at Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Niles, Michigan, asked the public to attend the veteran’s funeral, a massive crowd of more than 3,000 people turned up from around the country to honor him.
“We were just hoping that some of the public would come out and honor him and pay respects,” Mickel said, “It turned out that a lot of people showed up, saying that he might not have family but I’ll be his family for the day.” Wilson had served the country from 1971 to 1977, his obituary said.
People came from as far as Iowa, Tennessee and Florida to pay their respects to the Michigan veteran. He received full military honors and a military salute at his funeral, with a representative from Rep. Fred Upton’s office in attendance and even presented a flag from Washington, D.C there as well.
The turn out for Niles Veteran Wayne Wilson’s funeral today was simply spectacular. Our community came together and…
Posted by Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Services on Wednesday, July 17, 2019
“It was unlike any other funeral I’d been to,” Mickel said. “This one was very uplifting and just [had] the message of you’re never alone.” He added, “Even if you think you’re alone, the greater American family is here to support you,” he said.
Mickel said, “The message to veterans was that you are loved and you are supported and we in the community are all here for you.”
We agree with you Mickel, our veterans have done a great service to the country and we must stand with them to support them always. What a great job done by intern Mickel to honor Vietnam veteran Wilson at his funeral.