One post on social media from a veteran services organization in Massachusetts drew 1,500 community members together to honor a 98-year-old World War II veteran who would have otherwise had no one at his funeral apart from his Veterans Affairs caregivers.
John Bernard Arnold III served in the U.S. Navy, and is remembered especially for his efforts to lift others up. He told caregivers at Veterans Affairs that he had visited 27 countries during his time in service, WCVB 5, an ABC affiliate, reported. According to his obituary, he lived in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and graduated from Rogers High School in Newport, Rhode Island, and attended Rhode Island State University for two years. His parents, John and Hannah Arnold, and his sisters, Mary Joines and Kathleen Principato, all preceded him in death.
Arnold died May 6, and his visitation and funeral Mass were set for May 18 at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Hanson, Massachusetts.
Initially after Arnold’s passing, Hanover-Hanson Veteran Services had asked the broader community through a Facebook post for support to “send him off the way a veteran should be,” noting that he had no known family to attend his services, according to a May 19 FOX News report. The post is no longer viewable on Facebook.
The response was beyond what the organization could have anticipated; hundreds of people who never knew Arnold filled the church grounds and lined the pathway to his burial.
Caregiver Hailey Munroe told reporters that Arnold’s personality could fill a room with joy and recalled that he loved classical music and chocolate cake.
“No matter what you are going through, he always knew how to bring a smile, make you laugh,” Munroe said.
Hanover-Hanson Veteran Services posted on Facebook a photo of roses placed on Arnold’s casket by an unknown person.
“Summed up in one picture, [this] symbolizes what today’s effort was all about,” the May 18 post read. “We celebrated a man that we did not know, and yet, touched so many lives. Today we brought a Veteran the love and support he more than deserved.”
The organization thanked the local fire and police departments, the church, and the Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club and the Patriot Guard, which provided the fire line and the flag line.
The community recognition of Arnold’s service to the country comes just before the national observance of Memorial Day on May 25, a day dedicated to remembering and honoring the soldiers who have died. Hanover-Hanson Veteran Services stated on Facebook that the huge local response to Arnold’s funeral “is exactly how our community (not just the Veterans) should come together.”
Donna Brown, a Gold Star wife, told WHDH that the outpouring of support for the WWII veteran made her feel a sense of pride: “Very proud of our country, proud of our community, and all of the people who are here today who don’t even know this man, who are willing to take time out of their busy lives to support our veteran.”