Hundreds brave snow to attend war vet’s funeral. But no one there knew the Kansas man
When Colorado veteran groups asked for the community’s help in attending the funeral of a Kansas man without any family members able to be there, the public turned out in a big way.
Staff Sgt. Clyde Baldwin served in the Air Force from 1950 to 1970, but he had no known family members able to attend his funeral on Friday, according to the Cheyenne Mountain VFW Post 3917.
The VFW post asked this week for help getting the 91-year-old Korean War veteran a good showing for his funeral.
Justin Clark, founder of Veterans Referring Veterans, also pleaded in a video he posted Thursday for the public to “show as much support as possible.”
There was a “tremendous response” to the VFW’s post, the group said. Many commented that no one deserved to be buried alone.
Burled at Pikes Peak National Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado, hundreds attended the funeral despite the snow and cold temperatures, KRDO reported.
Baldwin earned the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal and United Nations Service Medal after serving in Vietnam and Korea, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
One of the attendees, Robert Aholt, told the TV station he would have liked to have called Baldwin a brother.
“Even though I, myself, have not served in the military, I still feel like he’s part of our family,” Aholt told KRDO.
Nici Heisler wrote on Facebook that she helped care for Baldwin at The Bridge Assisted Living. She was also among the many people who attended the funeral.
“Clyde was respectfully laid to rest this cold, beautiful & snowy Colorado morning,” she wrote Friday. “The military/veteran community is simply incredible. There were hundreds upon hundreds of cars full of people that literally flowed out of the cemetery and miles down the road.”
Wes VK wrote on Facebook that there were at least 100 current or retired military members in attendance.
“The flags, the bagpipes, the huge turnout ... wow. ... incredibly touching,” he wrote.
Video posted to Facebook by Steve Sileo shows a long line of vehicles parked and people walking up to watch Baldwin be laid to rest.
Don Rohacek wrote on Facebook that he thought “a few others” would join him for the funeral. He said people came “from all walks of life and all around the sea” to pay their respects.
“It turns out Staff Sgt. Clyde Baldwin had one last thing to do for us before he left. He brought together men and women, young and old, rich and poor, to show us in this day of division that compassion and love for complete strangers still exists,” Rohacek said. “He managed to bring hundreds of us together, outside in the middle of a snowstorm in the dead of winter in Colorado, to prove to us that the best of us is still here. He reminded us of our humanity.”