Photo: Jared Brosnan/WBZ NewsRadio
HANSON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hundreds of people showed up to the funeral of a World War II Navy veteran in Hanson Monday.
John Bernard Arnold III of East Bridgewater died on May 6 at the age of 98.
Hanover/Hanson Veteran Services posted on Facebook Thursday that Arnold had no known living family to attend his funeral services, and asked the public for their support.
The community answered the call in a big way, packing the pews at St. Joseph the Worker Church to pay their respects.
1 of 3 Photo: Courtesy of Hailey Munroe
2 of 3 Photo: Jared Brosnan/WBZ NewsRadio
3 of 3 Photo: Jared Brosnan/WBZ NewsRadio
"We had to be here to show our support," said Kevin, a military veteran who served in Vietnam. "When someone serves our country, I think you have to be obligated to show your appreciation for what they did, the freedoms that we enjoy and what we fought for."
"We know what it’s like, and he did it before us and we’re just here to support him," said fellow Vietnam veteran Harry.
One of the people in attendance was Hailey Munroe, who works at the Garrison Home for Veterans in East Bridgewater where Arnold spent his final years.
"He made me want to come into work," Munroe told WBZ NewsRadio. "I wanted to hear how he was doing. He always wanted to know about me. I was in the hospital at one point, he was begging the staff to bring him up to see me. The sweetest soul I’ve ever met."
WBZ's Jared Brosnan reports.