Vietnam Veteran Laid To Rest With Honor in Texas

With no family present, Vietnam veteran laid to rest
Killeen Daily Herald
By Justin Mashburn
Herald correspondent
December 30, 2016

“I feel it is our duty to be here and pay our respects to them. There was no one else to ... so why not step up and be the family?” Simons said.

Eric J. Shelton | Herald

Jason Bretado pays his respects during an unaccompanied burial for U.S. Army veteran LeRoy Jacobson Friday at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen.

Vietnam veteran LeRoy Jacobson, 67, was laid to rest Friday with full military honors at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen.

Despite chilly, wet weather, about 75 veterans, civilians and organization members paid respects to a fallen veteran. Jacobson had no family members present, which cemetery officials refer to as an “unaccompanied veteran’s funeral.”

All stood in silence, heads bowed and tears shed, not in remorse, but in respect, as a fellow veteran conducted the funeral services. Jacobson was a former private in the Army, serving from July 1967 to April 1970. Not much else is known about him or his military service, or even how he died.

Taps softly reverberated through the cool, crisp air as all fellow veterans saluted at Jacobson’s casket, and all civilians in attendance placed their hands over their hearts.

No next of kin were named or discovered, other than a brother who lived out of state but could not attend. Though the veteran was not accompanied by blood relatives, there was no shortage of an extended military family.

The flag folded by the honor guard went to Doug Gault, chief on-site representative of the Veterans Land Board and a former command sergeant major.
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