Veterans deserve a lot more recognition than they get most of the time.
In fact, there seem to be new stories popping up every day about how veterans are tossed to the side and forgotten about. One woman recently witnessed a man paying his respects during a funeral procession for a WWII veteran. She shared a photo online, and it went viral.
Kristen Collins is a granddaughter of deceased World War II veteran Fred Ladage.
She and her family were following behind other family members in the procession when they passed a semitruck on the interstate. A lot of cars pulled over to allow the funeral to pass, but this truck driver did a little more than that.
He stopped his truck, jumped out, put his hand over his heart, and paid his respects to the vet as he passed by. To the grieving family, this was amazing. They were shocked and happy to see that this man, who didn’t even know Ladage, still cared enough to do this.
Collins snapped a photo to show other family members who may not have witnessed it. She also wanted to share it with the internet and let everyone know that small acts of kindness like this do not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
She posted the photo with this caption:
“While in the funeral procession today to Jefferson barracks to lay my grandfather to rest a man driving a truck pulled off and made honor as we all proceeded. Thank you for showing such great honor – I found and got to personally thank this man!!”
She didn’t expect the photo to go viral, but she was glad that it did.
She was able to find the man in the photo, who turned out to be an Army veteran himself. It was Bradley Faulkner. His wife saw the photo online and instantly recognized him. She knew it was something her husband would do and called him to let him know about the photo and the post.
“It’s just such an honor to be able to meet the person that made such an impact on us for a moment in time,” Kristin Collins said.
Her post was shared over 150 times and has more than 600 likes.
A lot of people commented with well wishes and condolences to the family. Others thanked Faulkner for caring enough about a fellow soldier to take the time to pay his final respects. The captivating photo definitely made people think and caused some to tear up.
Collins and Faulkner were interviewed by several news stations and got a chance to share their feelings with the world. Hopefully, Collins’ post will inspire others to take the time out of their busy lives to do what’s right. Sometimes, something simple can make a big difference. Faulkner didn’t do what he did to get attention or because he thought someone was looking; he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. If more people acted on that notion, the world would be a much better place.
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