ELGIN – Four military veterans who might have been buried without family or friends in attendance received a hero’s sendoff when about 150 people gathered at Fort Sill National Cemetery to thank the men for their service and sacrifice.
Buried were U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Louis Volak, U.S. Army Specialist 4 Ronnie Richards, U.S. Marine Private Donald Wilson and U.S. Army Private Ralph Sandy.
The four veterans would have been buried alone without the help of Matthew Priest, assistant director of the Fort Sill and Fort Gibson National Cemeteries. Priest put out a call for veterans and the public to attend the March 24 service for the four men.
“It was a beautiful service,” Priest said. “Most of the people there were from veterans service groups like the VFWs, Combat Motorcycle Riders, America’s Veteran Supporters and a contingent from Fort Sill. Our goal is to make sure no veteran is buried alone. It was a true blessing to see all of those people here.”
Unclaimed veterans, which means they have no known family members, are brought to the national cemetery for burial “every month or every other month,” Priest said.
A military chaplain conducted the March 24 service as members of the service groups looked on.
“It’s nice to know four veterans arrived (at the cemetery) without family but before they were buried, they had a lot of family saying goodbye,” Priest said.
Volak served during World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam Era. Richards was in the military during the Persian Gulf War while Wilson and Sandy served during Vietnam.
Ron Albert, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5263, said several VFW members attended the March 24 funerals.
“It breaks my heart when situations like this occur (unclaimed veterans). But when we serve like we do, we’re all brothers and sisters,” he said. “When these things occur, we get with all the military organizations and push the information out on our social media. We’ll always have someone there.”