The Manatee County veterans community is making sure that an 87-year-old Korean War veteran who died alone, without immediate family, and whose ashes went unclaimed for several months, goes to his final resting place with full military honors.
Pvt. Albert Leroy Hall died in Parrish on May 10, 2021. His remains will be interred at Sarasota National Cemetery on Oct. 7. Between his death, and his planned service, strangers who did not know Hall went out of their way to make sure that he received a respectful service and thanks for his time in the military.
Sandy Gessler, an Army veteran and historian for American Legion Post 312 in Bradenton, said even though she never met Hall, she considers him family.
“I know him. He’s family. He is ours. He served for us. When you think about him, the tears come,” she said. “We leave nobody behind.”
Groover Funeral Home handled the cremation of Hall’s remains. When Duane LaFollett, an area general manager for Dignity Memorial, owner of Groover Funeral Home, heard that a veteran’s remains had gone unclaimed, he began making calls.
One of those calls went to Gessler, who, with Manatee County Veterans Service Officer Lee Washington, was able to confirm Hall’s veteran status and obtain approvals for a resting place and marker at Sarasota National Cemetery.
“We are glad to be able to work with Sandy and to make sure that someone who served the armed forces was able to be placed in the national cemetery,” Rick Groover, general manager of Groover Funeral Home, said.
‘He was a very quiet, private person’
Little is known about Pvt. Hall or his service. In 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, destroyed the records of many veterans. Hall entered the service in New York City when he was 18, and for the last 18 years of his life, he lived in Parrish, Gessler said.
“He was a very quiet, private person and did not venture out much, especially in his last years”, she said. “His significant other passed away eight years earlier.
“He did not even realize he could have gotten medical attention through the VA, or have been moved into senior housing,” she said.
Carolie Holbrook, a former neighbor of Hall’s who has moved out of the area, said he was a retired auto body worker.
“Al was very quiet, very private, but you would often see him riding his four-wheel cycle in the village,” Holbrook said.
Arrangements for Pvt. Hall include an escort by the American Legion Riders, Patriot Guards and veterans. The Florida National Guard will provide military funeral honors.
“It is so important that veterans work with their veteran service officer and have their paperwork in order and know their benefits especially when a veteran passes without family,” Gessler said.
The escort for Pvt. Hall will gather at 1 p.m. Oct. 7 at Christopher Cobb Memorial Post 312, American Legion, 1610 67th Ave. E., Oneco, and depart for Sarasota National Cemetery about 1:30 p.m. Services are set for 2:30 p.m. at the cemetery, 9810 State Road 72, Sarasota.
More than 33,000 Americans died during the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. A peace treaty has never been signed and the Korean peninsula remains one of the world’s most dangerous flash points.
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