Veteran’s serve our country and give us the freedoms that we enjoy. Some of them even give their lives during the fight. But even if they don’t give their lives in battle, they still deserve our respect. That’s exactly what the students at one Massachusetts school sought to do for a veteran in their community that died without any family or friends nearby.

U.S. Army veteran John T. Fitzmaurice was just 68 when he died. He was a hero but had no family or friends to honor his life. He was a homeless veteran.

That’s when the students at Catholic Memorial High School decided to do something to honor the veteran. They couldn’t just let him have a lonely funeral with no one to honor him. So the all-boys private school contacted a local ministry and the funeral home to partner with them to give John the send off that he deserved. Some of these boys had never even attended a funeral before.

The juniors and seniors in the group acted as the pallbearers and carried John’s flag covered casket. The sophomore theology class attended the funeral along with several members of the community.

Check out the heartwarming video below to learn more about this story and be sure to share these kids kind act with your family and friends.