WWII vet with no known family given hero’s sendoff as 1,500 strangers show up

A World War II veteran who died with no known family was given a suitably heroic sendoff this week — with around 1,500 strangers showing up to pay their respects at his funeral.

When John Bernard Arnold III died on May 6 at age 98 at a nursing home in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, a local veteran services group issued a public appeal to show respect.

“This veteran passed away with no known family to attend his services. Let’s send him off the way a veteran should be,” Hanover-Hanson Veteran Services said on Facebook.

The group hoped for a small show of support — and was stunned when an estimated 1,500 people ultimately got involved.

“The level of humanity out there, where people can come out not knowing who he was … is absolutely incredible. It shines a light on what we do as a society,” the veteran service’s Terrance O’Keefe told WPRI.

Following the service at Saint Joseph the Worker Church in Hanson, MA, dozens more, including a long police motorcade of biker cops, escorted Arnold to his final resting place at Cedar Knoll Cemetery in Taunton.

“Nobody should have to go alone, I don’t care who you are,” funeral attendee Jim Peace told WCVB.

Stirring video showed the grounds of the cemetery being freshly mown ahead of Monday’s service, while crowds of well-wishers, many in military uniforms, arrived hours ahead of time to pay their respects.

American flags were handed out to the crowds, as a bagpipe player greeted the hearse to the cemetery.

“We’ll never let one of our veterans pass without being honored and sent off with respect and dignity, the way that a veteran should be to their final resting place,” fellow veteran Joe Campbell told WHDH.

During his time in the Navy, Arnold visited 27 countries, often sharing memories of beautiful places he had visited, such as Italy, with his Veterans Affairs caregivers.

Before joining the Navy, he graduated from Rogers High School in Newport, Rhode Island, and later attended Rhode Island State University.

He never married or had children, and when he died, he had no known relatives.

One of Arnold’s former caregivers at his nursing home described him as “the sweetest soul” and said he would have loved the turnout.

“He walked into the room and he lit up the room. No matter what you are going through, he always knew how to bring a smile, make you laugh,” said Hailey Munroe, who looked after Arnold at the Garrison Veterans Home.

She said that he loved classical music, chocolate cake, and making people laugh.