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RIP, Sarge. Mourners overflowed from the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery rotunda on a cold and gloomy Friday morning, many braced with umbrellas and raincoats after the early morning drizzles. And they huddled together to honor a man they never knew. Leo Stokley died Sunday, Nov. 4 at the Waters of Cheatham in Ashland City. The Murfreesboro man was 69. According to his obituary posted by Boyd Funeral Home, Stokley was born June 5, 1949 in Greenville, South Carolina. He served in the United States Marine Corps and did a tour in Vietnam. He was buried with military honors Friday morning at the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery in Pegram. That’s about all many people knew of Stokley when they arrived at the cemetery Friday. Bob Counter of the Cheatham County Veterans Service Office said that as he and his staff filtered through paperwork so Stokley could be buried with military honors, they learned that Stokley is considered an “unclaimed” veteran. “When we found out that he was considered an unclaimed veteran, which means he has no family, we wanted to make sure that he got claimed,” Counter explained. He posted Stokley’s obituary to the Cheatham County Veterans Service office Facebook page, along with a call for “Team Cheatham, and especially our veterans” to pay their respects to the unclaimed veteran at the cemetery on Friday. The post garnered 47 shares in about two days. Counter said others also posted about Stokley and shared their own calls, and through the “power of social media,” a crowd of supporters — including fellow military members — arrived at the cemetery. “It finally got to where we had this (crowd of) several hundred people here,” Counter said. “No one knew Leo, but everyone honored Leo. “We wanted to make sure he got his military honors, the recognition he deserves, and that he didn’t die alone.” Cheatham County Commissioner Walter Weakley, who also served in Vietnam, knew when he got a call from Counter this week that he wanted to come pay his respects. “No veteran should ever be laid to rest without somebody being at the funeral,” he said. “And he was a Vietnam veteran, so I feel like he was a brother of mine.” Weakley, who served in the Army, recited Psalm 23, highlighting the verse: “'though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil'…No telling the valleys of death we all walked through.” Counter noted the bond between veterans, unshared with any others, and many veterans had the opportunity to reconnect with one another at the cemetery Friday morning. “It’s heartwarming, to me, to see people that didn’t know who this guy was and yet they took time from their day to come out and pay their respect,” Counter said. “Especially around Veteran’s Day, it’s a special meaning to have that many people come out and pay their final respect to Leo. “Some good comes (from) everything. Leo brought a bunch of people together that he never knew, but he never was without family.” https://www.tennessean.com/sto...cemetery/1944157002/ | ||
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Member |
RIP Leo. Salute God's mercy: NOT getting what we deserve! God's grace: Getting what we DON'T deserve! "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal Bob P239 40 S&W Endowment NRA Viet Nam '69-'70 | |||
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Uppity Helot |
Rest In Peace SGT. Stokley | |||
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Member |
Thank You Leo. And thank you to those taking Leo to his resting place. | |||
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Member |
RIP warrior! Thank you for your service. | |||
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Member |
A recent quote I read, “We may not know them all, but we owe them all.” RIP | |||
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Green grass and high tides |
May God now hold your Sir and may you rest in peace. And Thank You! "Practice like you want to play in the game" | |||
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Member |
He was a Marine which means he had family because we are all brothers. RIP and Semper Fi. | |||
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Muzzle flash aficionado |
A touching tribute. RIP and Semper Fi! flashguy Texan by choice, not accident of birth | |||
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