Community Corner
Texas Military Veterans Honor Soldier Who Died Alone
Dozens of Houston area veterans paid their respects to Army PFC Willie Braxton, whose remains were unclaimed after he died in May.
HOUSTON, TX — A call to honor a fallen military veteran whose body had been unclaimed at a Houston area funeral home for two months was answered when dozens turned out at Houston National Cemetery to pay their final respects.
Private First Class Willie Braxton, who served during Vietnam, was laid to rest on Tuesday with fellow veterans stepping up to ensure he had a proper burial with full military honors.
The call went out on social media a day earlier from Hector Giron, a U.S. Navy veteran and veterans advocate.
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Giron told Patch he was alerted about Braxton through a friend at Dignity Memorial Funeral Homes, who said his remains were unclaimed.
"He called me and said he had a veteran who’d been deceased for two months. No one had come to claim his body," Giron said.
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Braxton, 71, died of natural causes in May at a Houston area nursing facility, and his body was taken to a nearby mortuary with hopes his body would be claimed.
But no one came for Willie Braxton.
Representatives at Dignity provided the casket for Braxton’s remains, and waived the fees associated with the burial.
The Department of Veteran Affairs provides for honorably discharged military veterans and their spouses to be buried at military cemeteries, and provides the headstone.
However, caskets or urns for ashes are not always provided.
On Monday, Giron sent out a call on his personal Facebook page to all veterans to come out and pay their final respects to Braxton
Giron's post didn't go unnoticed and was shared more than 100 times on Facebook by veterans and veterans groups in less than 24 hours.
Dozens turned out to honor Braxton on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. Members of the Patriot Guard motorcycle club were on hand to stand by and pay their respects, and Giron, and five others in the veteran community served as Braxton’s pallbearers.
Dozens who'd served just like Braxton were there to say a final goodbye and ensure the former combat soldier was buried with military honors.
"It was easy for me to do," Giron said. "We made it happen."
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