A Facebook call-out asking former soldiers to attend the funeral of a 67-year-old former submariner who succumbed to cancer, alone and in a nursing home, drew hundreds of mourners -- most of them strangers, reported the Portsmouth (U.K.) News.
Rodney "Vic" Silvester was a veteran who served on nuclear submarines for many years, reported the paper. But fate and poor health left him dying alone in a hospital room after spending time at a residential care home for the sick and elderly. Just one distant relative -- a cousin -- came forward to organize Silvester's funeral, but that all changed when the Supporting Veterans in Care Facebook group got involved.
The group put out a plea for mourners, a plea that was echoed by the British Legion and the Submariners’ Association. Messages to representatives of the Supporting Veterans in Care group, based in the U.K., were not answered by publication.
Silvester's career was spent aboard the HMS Dolphin, on the HMS Odin and the HMS Dreadnought -- the highlights of which were noted at his funeral. A bugler played as his coffin was lowered to the ground, reported The News.
Rodney "Vic" Silvester was a veteran who served on nuclear submarines for many years, reported the paper. But fate and poor health left him dying alone in a hospital room after spending time at a residential care home for the sick and elderly. Just one distant relative -- a cousin -- came forward to organize Silvester's funeral, but that all changed when the Supporting Veterans in Care Facebook group got involved.
The group put out a plea for mourners, a plea that was echoed by the British Legion and the Submariners’ Association. Messages to representatives of the Supporting Veterans in Care group, based in the U.K., were not answered by publication.
Silvester's career was spent aboard the HMS Dolphin, on the HMS Odin and the HMS Dreadnought -- the highlights of which were noted at his funeral. A bugler played as his coffin was lowered to the ground, reported The News.
No comments:
Post a Comment