A photo of an Army veteran holding his hand over his heart and standing next to his truck pulled off to the side of the road to pay his respects to a deceased World War II veteran has gone viral on social media.
Bradley Faulkner, a nine-year Army veteran, pulled over on an interstate highway in Missouri and saluted the World War II veteran during the funeral procession to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.
Kristen Collins, the granddaughter of deceased World War II veteran Fred Ladage, took the photo and posted it to Facebook on Friday.
“While in the funeral procession today to Jefferson Barracks to lay my grandfather to rest, a man driving a truck pulled off and made honor as we all proceeded. Thank you for showing such great honor – I found and got to personally thank this man,” she wrote.
Faulker said he would’ve stopped for the funeral procession even if he didn’t serve in the Army.
“Being a veteran didn’t change anything about the situation,” Faulker told ABC 13. “If I had known it was a funeral for anybody, I would have stopped and done that. … I’m born and raised in Tennessee. Down there that’s just what they do. Anytime you see a funeral coming down the road, you stop your vehicle.”
Collins found out that she and Faulker’s wife have a mutual friend, and later that night, she personally thanked him for stopping and paying his respects.
