Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Bells, flyby honor WWII veteran
Moore’s fundraising in ’20 inspired Britain
LONDON — Church bells rang out, and a World War II-era plane flew Saturday over the funeral service of Capt. Tom Moore to honor of the veteran who single-handedly raised millions of pounds for Britain’s health workers by walking laps in his backyard.
Soldiers performed ceremonial duties at the private service for Moore, who died Feb. 2 at age 100 after testing positive for COVID-19. Captain Tom, as he became known, inspired the U.K. during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic with his humble endeavor that raised almost $46 million for Britain’s National Health Service last year.
The private service was small, attended by eight members of the veteran’s immediate family. But soldiers carried his coffin, draped in the Union flag, from the hearse to a crematorium and formed a ceremonial guard. Others performed a gun salute before a C-47 Dakota military transport plane flew past.
“Daddy, you always told us ‘Best foot forward,’ and true to your word, that’s what you did last year,” Moore’s daughter Lucy Teixeira said at the service. “I know you will be watching us chuckling, saying, ‘Don’t be too sad as something has to get you in the end.’”
His other daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said the world was “enthralled” by her father’s “spirt of hope, positivity and resilience.”
“They, too, saw your belief in kindness and the fundamental goodness of the human spirit,” she said.
The service featured music that reflected the man being honored, opening with the rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” that Moore recorded for charity with Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir. The song reached No. 1 in the U.K. singles charts last April.
Singer Michael Bublé recorded a version of “Smile” for the funeral, and as requested by Moore, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” was played. A bugler sounded “The Last Post” to close the service.
A church in Bedfordshire, England, where the family is based, rang its bell 100 times in Moore’s honor. A post on Moore’s Twitter account invited his admirers to remember him Saturday with a cup of tea and a slice of Victoria sponge cake.
Moore, who served in India, Burma and Sumatra during World War II, set out to raise a modest 1,000 pounds for Britain’s NHS by walking 100 laps of his backyard by his 100th birthday last year. But donations poured in from across Britain and beyond.
Today is
Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2021. There are 306 days left in the year.
Highlight in history Feb. 28, 2013,
On
Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eightyear pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)
On this date 1849,
In the California gold rush began in earnest as regular steamship service started bringing gold-seekers to San Francisco.
In 1988, the 15th Olympic Winter Games held its closing ceremony in Calgary, Alberta.
In 1993, a gun battle erupted at a religious compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh on weapons charges; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began.
In 1996, Britain’s Princess Diana agreed to divorce Prince Charles. (Their 15-year marriage officially ended in August 1996; Diana died in a car crash in Paris a year after that.)
In 2018, Walmart announced that it would no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21 and would remove items resembling assault-style rifles from its website. Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would stop selling assault-style rifles and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21.
Today’s birthdays
Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 82. Hall of Fame auto racer Mario Andretti is 81. Basketball Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley is 66. Actor John Turturro is 64. Actor Rae Dawn Chong is 60. Country singer Jason Aldean is 44. MLB relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is 33.