thedrifter
02-16-09, 07:13 AM
Ky. group supports vets by attending funerals
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Feb 15, 2009 15:07:15 EST
RADCLIFF, Ky. — A friend of veteran William “Mike” Lyons expected to be among a very few people attending his funeral recently.
Melissa Mershon thought she may have been at the wrong service when she got to Kentucky Veterans Cemetery-Central in Radcliff and joined a group of about 40 to pay their last respects to Lyons. Many were members of the Kentucky Patriots, a newly formed group that plans to send representatives to veterans’ funerals.
Lyons’ funeral Feb. 9 was the first.
“Just amazing,” Mershon told The News-Enterprise of Elizabethtown.
Donna Betson of Vine Grove is chairwoman of the group, which plans to attend all services at the Radcliff cemetery. The group will send as many members as possible to funerals of veterans without families, and at least two to services where attendance is not expected to be an issue, Betson said.
Betson was told, while arranging her own father’s funeral, that groundskeepers were asked to attend some veterans’ funerals because no one else would be there.
“It has just overwhelmed me with pride,” Betson said of the crowd at Lyons’ funeral.
“He was a strong advocate for disability rights,” Mershon said of Lyons. He reminded people to support the country’s troops “and was proud to say it very loud.”
Members of the Patriot Guard Riders also attended the funeral.
The Kentucky Patriots also raises money for expenses such as name tags and flowers. Its sponsors include Military Officers Association of America, E-9 Association and Disabled American Veterans.
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Information from: The News-Enterprise.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Feb 15, 2009 15:07:15 EST
RADCLIFF, Ky. — A friend of veteran William “Mike” Lyons expected to be among a very few people attending his funeral recently.
Melissa Mershon thought she may have been at the wrong service when she got to Kentucky Veterans Cemetery-Central in Radcliff and joined a group of about 40 to pay their last respects to Lyons. Many were members of the Kentucky Patriots, a newly formed group that plans to send representatives to veterans’ funerals.
Lyons’ funeral Feb. 9 was the first.
“Just amazing,” Mershon told The News-Enterprise of Elizabethtown.
Donna Betson of Vine Grove is chairwoman of the group, which plans to attend all services at the Radcliff cemetery. The group will send as many members as possible to funerals of veterans without families, and at least two to services where attendance is not expected to be an issue, Betson said.
Betson was told, while arranging her own father’s funeral, that groundskeepers were asked to attend some veterans’ funerals because no one else would be there.
“It has just overwhelmed me with pride,” Betson said of the crowd at Lyons’ funeral.
“He was a strong advocate for disability rights,” Mershon said of Lyons. He reminded people to support the country’s troops “and was proud to say it very loud.”
Members of the Patriot Guard Riders also attended the funeral.
The Kentucky Patriots also raises money for expenses such as name tags and flowers. Its sponsors include Military Officers Association of America, E-9 Association and Disabled American Veterans.
———
Information from: The News-Enterprise.
Ellie