Volunteers show up to lay ‘unaccompanied’ veteran to rest

KCCI EIGHT NEWS AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. IOWANS HELPED HONOR A HERO TODAY. VETERAN JACK HAYES WAS LAID TO REST IN SIGOURNEY. HE WAS 90 YEARS OLD. BECAUSE HIS FAMILY COULDN’T ATTEND TODAY’S SERVICES, IOWA ORGANIZATION THE FINAL SALUTE ASKED THE PUBLIC FOR HELP. KCCI PHOTOJOURNALIST BRANDON GREENE SHOWS US HOW IOWANS STEPPED UP. LORD, TODAY WE CELEBRATE A HOMECOMING. WE SEE THESE VETERANS THAT ARE GETTING OLDER AND OLDER, AND MANY TIMES THEY DON’T HAVE FAMILY AVAILABLE. BUT JACK HAS THIS FAMILY LOOK AROUND. ABSOLUTELY IMPRESSIVE GROUP CALLED FINAL SALUTE. THEY WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING THE WORD OUT AND THEY RALLIED. YOU COULD YOU CAN JUST SEE WITH ALL THE FOLKS THAT WERE HERE, MILITARY FOLKS, THE BROTHERHOOD. THAT DOESN’T TAKE LONG FOR WORD TO SPREAD. AMONG US ARE SOLDIERS, SAILORS, MARINES, PATRIOTS. JACK ANSWERED THAT CALL HONORABLY. READY. AIM. FIRE! MUSIC WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO HIM. HIS HOME IS FILLED WITH ALBUMS AND CASSETTE TAPES, MUSIC. HE KNEW THERE WAS AN IMPORTANCE TO MUSIC. THIS MAKES IT RIGHT. MY NAME ABOVE. AND JUST A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS MAKES ME WHOLE.

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Volunteers show up to lay ‘unaccompanied’ veteran to rest

Jack Hayes died and his only family member could not attend the service, so people from around Iowa showed up to stand in.

Updated: 11:15 PM CST Feb 27, 2026

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Veteran Jack Hayes was laid to rest in Iowa. He was 90 years old.Because Hayes’ family couldn’t attend today’s services, the Iowa organization The Final Salute asked the public to help.Brandon Green, a photojournalist from Hearst sister station KCCI, shows us how Iowans stepped up.

Veteran Jack Hayes was laid to rest in Iowa. He was 90 years old.

Because Hayes’ family couldn’t attend today’s services, the Iowa organization The Final Salute asked the public to help.

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Brandon Green, a photojournalist from Hearst sister station KCCI, shows us how Iowans stepped up.