Jordan Marks, the baseball coach at Menard High School, ensured that the veteran would not be alone during the burial.
When the time comes, all veterans deserve a proper funeral. They offer their life to the nation and should be remembered with dignity and respect. However, several times veterans don't have any family or friends at the time of their death. So, when one air force veteran died, a group of high school students decided to lay him to rest with full honors.
Ralph Lambert, a veteran of the United States Air Force, died on February 8 at the age of 94. Jordan Marks, the baseball coach at Menard High School, ensured that the veteran would not be alone during the burial. Marks told Louisiana Radio Network, "Joel Swisher from Hixson Funeral Home called me and basically asked me for a favor, and we were just more than happy he called and more than happy to do it."
21 years in the Air Force, outlived any family he had. God Bless you Sir, your duty is done.
— R T (@RDog861) February 21, 2022
U.S. Air Force Veteran without family laid to rest by high school seniors https://t.co/YDMcpYrjrs
He told KALB, "I picked the six seniors we have. I try to teach them the game of baseball but also the game of life, and anytime we can serve a community member or especially somebody that served for our country, we are more than happy to do it." Lambert had served his nation for more than two decades, from 1950 to 1971, and it would be tragic if he would be buried with no one to commemorate him. Menard baseball seniors Ashton Veade, Cameron Kinder, Jacob Giordano, Jackson Ford, Ashton Brodnax, and Hunter Foster showed their respects despite not knowing the veteran. They carried Lambert's casket with the American Flag draped over it.
On February 8th, Ralph Lambert, a retired veteran with the US Air Force passed away with no friends or family around. But these guys are just a few of the seniors from @Menard_Baseball that made sure the veteran wasn’t buried alone.
— Dylan Domangue (@dylanMD16) February 19, 2022
Catch the story at 6 and 10 today on @KALBtv5 pic.twitter.com/HGQN5ray0v
Giordano said, "It was an honor for us, seniors, to be able to go out there, especially with somebody with no family and friends." For some of the boys, this was more than simply an act of service; it was also a chance to remember family members who had served in the military. Marks said he has heard from multiple people in the community praising him and his team for stepping up since the funeral on February 8th. "Well, I’ve had some phone calls and some emails and text messages from people that I don’t even know. A lot of bad things on the news these days and everybody was just kind of grateful to read something worth reading."
He said that this funeral service had a great impact on the High School seniors. He added, "And so, I think it opened their eyes. Anything related to that kind of scenario I think they are more than happy and willing to jump in and help a community member out for sure." Kinder said, "I felt sorry, and I just am glad that we got the opportunity to go out there. We all have our family and friends, but I think we fail to realize that somebody out there doesn’t have that."
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Cover image source: Facebook/kelli.giordano.1
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