How many times have you witnessed a funeral procession coming down the road and watched as fellow motorists failed to yield or get out of the way? How many times have you yourself rolled your eyes at the minor delay while pulling into the shoulder? Well this week, one uniformed solider who clearly didn’t mind the inconvenience took the respectful gesture to a whole new level, stopping his car in the pouring rain to salute a passing hearse.
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The simple yet touching act has gone viral after it was captured by a fellow driver and shared on social media. Facebook user Erin Hester lamented how “frustrated” she gets when vehicles “don’t pull to the side and stop for a procession,” but admitted this “gentleman went above and beyond,” standing beside his Jeep at attention as the rain came down.
"I was so completely touched by this today. A funeral procession was passing by and this soldier got out of his jeep to…
Posted by Love What Matters on Monday, July 10, 2017
“I was so completely touched by this today. A funeral procession was passing by and this soldier got out of his jeep to stand at attention in the pouring rain,” Hester wrote. “I always get frustrated when I see cars that don’t pull to the side and stop for a procession, but this gentlemen went above and beyond. I feel pretty confident that there isn’t a military rule that soldiers have to do this. This made my heart happy to see the amount of respect that this gentleman showed a family that he doesn’t even know.”
Commenters on the post were quick to praise the soldier and chime in with their own experiences. One woman shared that when she was part of a funeral procession for her deceased father, a man at a bus stop stood up and removed his cap as they passed by. The moment brought her to tears and reminded her that “it’s amazing when someone does something for nothing in return.”
Likewise, another user described passing a construction site during her father’s procession and watching the entire crew stop what they were doing to pay their respects.
“We passed a construction area while in my father’s procession,” Kristin Juno Vincent commented. “They stopped, [and] lined the road with their hard hats off. There really are good people in this world!”
(H/T: Love What Matters)