Serina Vine was a respected World War II Navy veteran. Decades after she served, she was found homeless, suffering from dementia. She lived the rest of her life in the care of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs’ Community Living Center.
When she died, she had no living relatives who could attend her funeral.
She would be laid to rest at Quantico National Cemetery in Triangle, Virginia, in the company of only four people.
Word of the unfortunate circumstance spread over social media. When Army major Jaspen Boothe heard the news, she refused to allow such a tragedy to happen.
She explained, “In the military, we don’t serve alone, therefore we should not die alone.”
That’s when Boothe plastered information about the funeral all over social media’s veterans’ groups.
Boothe told Today News,
“I was thinking my efforts would make maybe 20 to 30 people show up, but when I arrived, there were hundreds of cars lined up.”
The once lonely procession turned into a celebration of the veteran’s life.
Serina was accompanied by 200 people who arrived to pay tribute to the 91-year old veteran.
Retired Marine and cemetery worker, William Jones, invited Boothe to attend Serina’s funeral.
At the procession, Jones recited Boothe’s words of inspiration.
“When I went up to speak, I referred to myself as Serina’s sister, not because we were raised by the same parents, but because at one point, we both raised our hand and agreed to serve our nation. She may not have had family and friends, but here we were standing in solidarity together as her family.”
Serina Vine was buried with respect and tradition as an American flag was placed over her casket.
Although they never knew her, a veteran is family, nevertheless.
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