KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — He was an Air Force veteran with no family left to bury him when he died, but he wasn't laid to rest alone.
64-year-old Airman Basic David Lee Cooper died on Oct. 17 at Blount Memorial Hospital. The Knoxville native enlisted when he was 24 years old and was an aircraft electrical systems specialist for the United States Air Force for two years in the 1970s.
After he returned home, he became a route carrier for the Knox News Sentinel and later the Maryville Times newspapers. He also helped his mother care for his father, who had suffered a serious brain injury in a car wreck, and two sisters who were both disabled and used wheelchairs. They all preceded him in death.
So when Cooper passed away, he had no immediate family left to claim his body, or to mourn his death.
But his death did not go unnoticed.
A memorial service for Airman Basic Cooper was held on Nov. 5 at East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery with full military honors. It was attended by fellow veterans, family friends, and people who didn't even know him.
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Family friend Steven May was there. He said even though Cooper didn't have many relationships, he would have been proud so many people came out to honor his life and service to his country.
"It would absolutely warm his heart to believe it in his life that people came out and cared about him this time," said May.