On Feb. 25, over 100 community members attended a funeral for two Louisiana veterans, reported the The Times-Picayune. Neither man had living relatives.
Claudie Ray Shiflett enlisted in the Army in 1959 at the age of 19. According to friends, he was stationed in Europe for two years and during that time worked as a military electrician. Shiflett was honorably discharged in 1965. He died Dec. 15. Shiflett was 74.
John Henry Huber joined the Army in 1964 at the age of 17. Huber served in the Vietnam War and was honorably discharged in 1969. He died Nov. 28. Huber was 69.
Both men lived out their post-service years in the New Orleans suburbs of Slidell and Metairie, respectively.
Friends, community members and local veterans honored the men during a brief service at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell, reported The New Orleans Advocate. Members from a number of nearby veterans groups also showed up to pay their respects. The Women Veterans of Louisiana and the Marine Corps League both sent representatives. Cemetery employees organized the service and collaborated with St. Tammany Parish President's Veterans and Military Affairs Advisory Council to publicize it via social media.
"The turnout was unbelievable," Stephen Austin, a lawyer and one of Huber's friends, told The Times-Picayune. "This is far more than I expected. I think he would have been very pleased."
Members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a local veterans motorcycle club, led the funeral procession. Ex-servicemembers commemorated the men with a three-volley rifle salute while a lone bugler played Taps. Austin accepted his friend's burial flag while St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister received Shiflett's. She plans to put the flag on display at the St. Tammany Courthouse in Covington, Louisiana.