Honoring a hero: Strangers show up for veteran who died with no known family

KMBC 9 News Reporter

Digital Content Producer

He might not have been surrounded by family, but he certainly wasn’t alone.

John Benjamin Philpot was a Navy veteran living in Missouri before he died at the age of 72. He was homeless at the time of his death and had no known family, despite searches by agencies.

But a group of kind strangers made sure he got a special and honorable goodbye.

The Missouri Veterans Cemetery-Higginsville put out a request on social media, asking for just a few folks to come to honor his service as “stand-by ‘family and friends.'”

And community members, fellow veterans and posthumous friends answered the call.

“I would want somebody to be at my funeral if I didn’t have family, or people that wanted to support me for what I did in my life,” said Jessica Huen, who came from Wellington, Missouri, to show her support with her family.

Those who led the service said the turnout was “overwhelming.”

“It’s just amazing,” said Ben Ortiz Sr., a Vietnam veteran like Philpot. “We take this homeless veteran into our care, and then we give them a full military honors service at our cost.”

And now, Philpot is a stranger no more.

“It means a great deal to me to see this, to know that what we’re doing is not in vain. Not in vain,” Ortiz said.