KILLEEN, TEXAS — It’s often been said everything is bigger in Texas, and that may very well apply to its residents’ hearts.
After Texas State Veterans Cemetery officials in Central Texas invited people via Facebook to attend the burial ceremony for an unaccompanied veteran — a stranger without family members to attend his burial — they likely didn’t expect many to come. It was likely a message of support to all military veterans. It was likely more a missive meant as tribute to even those unsung heroes who choose to serve their country.
And then, the most unlikely thing happened: On Monday, some 2,000 people showed up to honor the fallen veteran — all strangers to Joseph Walker, 72, a U.S. Air Force veteran who died alone. “We do NOT leave veterans behind,” the social media invitation noted in a message that resonated powerfully with residents of Killeen, Texas — a town of some 130,000 residents some 70 miles north of Austin that’s steeped in military history.
The Fort Hood military base is located here. Inside the military installation is the 1st Cavalry Museum, known for its nifty exhibition of historic military vehicles. So it’s already a town with a proud patriotic legacy.
But it wasn’t just residents of Killeen who went to honor the Air Force veteran. Attendees arrived from across Texas — taking time amid busy schedules to pay tribute to a total stranger they knew only to have been a military veteran from 1964-68. The throngs paying their respects came at a time when there seems to be heightened us-against-them tribalism, intractable polarization, entrenched ideologies inconsistent to others’ ideals and a sense of growing mistrust of others not like us.
Against the perceived odds inherent to our time — when we often prefer texting over talking to people on the phone, hesitate to open our doors to strangers and endure automated customer service robots further telegraphing what seems a growing aversion to genuine human interaction — there was a substantive swath of Texas humanity paying tribute to a complete stranger.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas played a role in the resulting crowds, urging people to attend the veteran’s burial service. The senator explained officials were unable to locate living relatives to alert them to the burial. “The cemetery said they do not know where his family is and they do not want him to be laid to rest alone, so they are asking the public to attend,” Cruz wrote.
Notwithstanding those outreach efforts, organizers seemed surprised by the attendance. Prior to the service, one official approached the lectern to alert of the imminent start time to the ceremony. He asked for patience as pilots readied for an aircraft flyover in tribute to Joseph Walker, and more time is given for those in bumper-to-bumper traffic along adjacent Interstate 95 had enough time to venture in.
He assured the crowd things would soon get under way. In a spontaneous aside, the speaker couldn’t help but marvel at attendance: “We really, really, really appreciate you coming,” the man said. “Central Texas ain’t no joke.”
Since the burial, thousands more (67,000 views and growing) who were unable to attend the service have watched the Facebook livestream. Nearly 700 have shared the video.
“Today, we’re not strangers,” one veteran who spoke at the service said. “Today, we are family. I don’t have a whole lot of information, but it doesn’t matter. Because once upon a time, like a lot of us other guys, he signed a blank check for our nation.”
Walker was buried with full military honors, an American flag draped over his casket serving as fitting tribute to one who served. Overhead, a trio of airplanes conducted a military flyover to accentuate the honors.
Joseph Walker may have died in Central Texas without the benefit of loved ones at his side. But as the gathering so dramatically illustrated, he hardly died alone.
Watch the entire ceremony below:
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