Source: army.milCOLLEGE PARK, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
A homeless College Park veteran will receive a military funeral Tuesday, complete with military funeral honors including the folding and presentation of the American flag and the playing of Taps.
Wendell Doughty, 50, served in the U.S. Army as a medical specialist for three years.
Doughty will be buried at 11:30 a.m. at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton.
Doughty was homeless and had no next-of-kin to plan his funeral.
H.M Patterson & Son-Canton Hill Chapel, a proud Dignity Memorial provider in Marietta, stepped in to see to it that Doughty receives a burial befitting a veteran.
"The Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program is a cooperative effort designed to ensure that veterans who are homeless, indigent and have no family receive the honors in death that their service in life merited," said Greg Free, chairperson of the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program in the Atlanta area. "We're honored to be able to give Mr. Doughty the dignified military service he deserves."
Through the program, Dignity Memorial funeral and cemetery providers provide preparation of the body, transportation, clothing and coordination of the funeral service. Georgia National Cemetery will provide the opening and closing of the gravesite, a grave liner, a headstone or marker and the graveside ceremony.
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