Gerry Brooks was one of our nation’s heroes. A Marine – I have it on good authority from friends who served in the Corps that there are no former Marines, only Marines who are no longer on active duty – Gerry was a widower, apparently with no family, and when he passed away at age 86 in a nursing home in Augusta, Maine, nobody showed up to claim his body or make funeral arrangements.
But it didn’t end there. The funeral home posted a notice asking if anyone in the community would be willing to serve as a pallbearer, or even to attend his funeral. The response was overwhelming.
Former U.S. Marine Gerry Brooks died alone at a nursing home in Maine, abandoned and all but forgotten. Then the funeral home posted a notice asking if anyone would serve as a pallbearer or simply attend his burial.
Within minutes, it was turning away volunteers to carry his casket.
A bagpiper came forward to…
