A World War veteran with no family or friends was laid to eternal rest by hundreds of strangers who gathered to honor the man in a beautiful ceremony.
95-year-old Brian Stanley William Fortune, who served in the Durham Light Infantry during World War II, was alone when he passed away in the hospital.
Following Mr. Fortune’s death, some three hundred strangers showed up at Brisbane’s Heritage Park Crematorium to commemorate the veteran in a military funeral.
Among the mourners were both children and adults as well as civilians and members of Australia’s armed forces.
As the hall got packed with people who never knew the veteran, over one hundred more stood outside under the rain.
“Sadly much of Stan’s life will remain a mystery, and his life’s story has passed with him,” Michael Blaine, the deputy president of RSL Ipswich Sub Branch, said before the veteran was laid to rest.
As the 95-year-old was being taken outside in a decorated coffin, he was escorted by uniformed soldiers and members of Diggers Motorcycle Club.
Remembering the mysterious veteran whose life story no one knew in detail was also Brenda Brennan who talked to the man while working as a barmaid.
“Stan was a quiet, private man but a great storyteller. He loved nothing more than telling a good joke or a story to anyone who would listen,” Brennan revealed in her tribute.
“He was a gentleman, and he would make sure that ladies always had a seat, and he would never speak crudely in the presence of a woman.
“Stan was very regimental with is routine – on a Friday he would go shopping, pay his bills and get a taxi to the pub, where he had his own bar stool and his own glass.”
As the woman added, Stan was a generous man who always did the right thing.
“Stan was a caring man and never liked to see anyone going without. He was always helping the less well-off and never looking for anything in return,” she added.
“He was a bit like a granddad to us Irish, he would give advice when he felt it was needed. Stan will be missed and we will remember him on St Patrick’s Day.”
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