Vets unaccompanied, yet they’re not alone

Under a gray sky Wednesday morning, about 100 people gathered at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery’s assembly area to honor 46 veterans who’d died over the last two years.

The dead had no family, friends or loved ones to claim their remains, arrange or attend services, let alone offer words of remembrance.

The official term is “unaccompanied veterans,” and for years, the Bexar County Military and Veterans Services Center, with Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, invited the public to graveside services with military honors.

But COVID-19 changed that, and since March 2020, the cemetery directly interred the unaccompanied vets with no spectators or military honors.

That’s why Wednesday’s ceremony honored those who died since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The pandemic robbed them of kind words and military honors at their grave site, but the ceremony offered an important gesture of respect and gratitude.

During the brief ceremony, and forever after, those in attendance became the dead’s family, friends and loved ones — a tangible extension of loyalty and camaraderie among those who signed up to sacrifice themselves for their country.

“It’s not about religion. It’s not about politics. It’s about respect,” said Kim Herrington, a VA cemetery representative. “Respect for what these veterans did for you and me.”

Patriot Guard Riders — volunteers who support military and first responder funerals — stood behind the podium holding U.S. and service branch flags.

Attendees sat on benches or stood in the aisles, but no currently serving generals or military leaders graced the crowd. Fort Sam Houston’s Memorial Services Detachment provided military honors. Without flagdraped coffins, we didn’t have the visual cues of loss, but the rifle volleys punctuated the air with finality. The echoes of taps reminded us of our mortality.

Two detachment members folded an American flag and presented it to Joe Bray, the South Texas civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army.

“There’s no words to describe it,” said Bray, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. “You’re actually taking them into your heart. Unbelievable the emotions — you can’t describe it.”

After a prayer, John Rodriguez, a Marine Corps and Vietnam veteran, read the 46 names.

“We are their family. We are their band of brothers and sisters,” said the San Antonio native. “I cannot think of a more humble act of love than to be present for military honors rendered for our homeless or unaccompanied

veterans.”

Rodriguez and his wife have attended such ceremonies since 2006, and sometimes, he said, they were the only ones. Once his wife received the flag and he served as a pallbearer because no one else was there.

The one woman and 45 men came from all the services — 21 Army, 10 Air Force, 10 Navy, 4 Marine Corps and 1 Coast Guard. They ranged in age from 50 to 92, with an average age of 71. According to VA listings, 27 served during Vietnam, three served during Korea and two had Persian Gulf service.

Tony and Irene O’Neal, Marine Corps vets and community volunteers, have attended 40 to

50 such ceremonies since 2015.

“It’s a great honor and privilege to come out here to show your respect to them because they kind of paved the way of life we live right now,” Tony said. Irene added, “They would do it for you.”

While few, if any, had obituaries, their lives encompassed more than the military. They had families and people who loved them. They probably still do.

Think about their lives before and after their military stints — families, loves, friends, losses, wins, jobs, hobbies. Imagine the things they saw from around the world. Consider all those they impacted over the years. Their memory still reverberates.

For some, the draft forever altered their life’s course. What could society have done to help them on their life journeys? How could we have met them where they were?

These veterans remind us that there’s work to do in supporting those who serve our nation. Homelessness, addiction, and physical and mental health problems haunt many vets. With so many resources in our community, no veteran should feel alone.

Sadly, we’re still a long way from that, and the unaccompanied veteran memorials will resume their monthly schedule in February.

Photos by Jerry Lara / Staff photographer Attendees listen to names of the 46, who had no one to claim their remains, and bestow on them the respect and gratitude they earned.

Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Joseph Bray receives the U.S. flag on behalf of the 46 unaccompanied veterans.