War is not something to be taken lightly. With all the violence that goes with it, it is hard to imagine what it must be like for those who go off to fight for their country. They must be such dedicated and patriotic people, seeing that they will die for their place of birth. Those veterans of our country who have fought tooth and nail. Often giving up their lives for the country’s sake. They deserve to be celebrated in life, and in death. This is a 2019 story about a casket with the body of an American veteran. A man who had died fighting for his country. He was left unclaimed, so a rally of bikers stepped up to the plate.
The veteran who is the subject of our story had served as a Marine soldier during the 1950s. His name was Robert Krause. This was an auspicious time because a lot of history went down during that time, and the military, the marines, and in all its different forms were very involved in the making of said history. By the time Robert retired and passed away his family was not around anymore either. That meant that he was left to be buried alone in his casket. So, he would not get the dignity he deserved. Even in death.
These men have fought hard to help, in the way they knew how, to fight for the country’s ideals. They have sacrificed many things in order to be a part of this. And, a lot of the time that means their family is not around when they return or don’t return. Many people might argue that that is reason enough to have the most dignified funeral service.
Those veterans who are left unclaimed are given a funeral service by the Florida National Cemetery four times a year. Each quarter they host the funerals in honor of the man who fought for their country but has no one to send him off in his casket appropriately. This is almost like their way of giving back.
For the Veteran Robert Krause’s funeral, there was no one expected to arrive to see him buried, which was to be in the Florida National Cemetery in their quarterly funerals for unclaimed veterans. He would have been buried completely alone without any support from fellow veterans or his family if it were not for a man named Nick Morales.
Nick Morales is a veteran for the U.S army and the Marine Corps. He is part of a group of bikers who volunteer their time and service to send off those veterans who have no one to attend their funeral. Nick said,
The funeral had started out like many other services where there was no one in attendance. There must’ve been a gloomy feeling in the air as the right words were never said by anyone, as no one was there. Robert had lived a long life, and he managed to survive the Marine Corps in the 1950s, all the way till now. It is a sad state of affairs to not have anyone to share his stories of glory.
It all changed when the biker volunteers suddenly showed up. Each one of them is a veteran, and they share the opinion that no veteran deserves to be buried alone. Nick Morales shared his insight over the matter.
They get together to attend the funerals of those veterans who no longer have any loved ones around. For whatever reason, that may be. They feel each veteran is worth at least a small bit of time. Time to show up in solidarity with all the efforts they have put into their country. When the service was over and the final hymn was sung, the casket was ready to be driven to the place it will be buried. The bikers hopped on their rides, and they escorted Robert’s body all the way, with rumbling engines.
These bikers said they felt proud to be a part of this man’s funeral. All because they would want the same for themselves, to know that someone will be there for them in the end. The funeral for Robert Krause ended off with taps.