If you’ve ever seen a funeral procession for an officer, you’ll know just how emotional it can be.
These funerals see hundreds of people gather together to pay their respects to the fallen, usually beginning with a procession along the road.
One emotional TikTok video has reached viral status after being uploaded by a marine mom earlier this year.
The video, which was recorded from inside TikTok user Kirsty’s car, shows a service member paying tribute to a fallen officer at the side of the road.
Kirsty pans her camera around to show the scene: she and other drivers have stopped their cars in a mark of respect as a funeral procession of one of America’s brave hearts passes by.
Heartbreakingly, a service member can be seen at the side of the road, saluting to the passing cars.
It’s an incredibly emotional situation, and Kirsty can only just hold back tears as she says:
“You all see this? He pulled over on the side of the road to show his respect. My utmost respect to you. This is about to bring tears to my eyes.”
The man, dressed head to toe in uniform, is wearing dark glasses and stands somberly with one hand at his side and the other against his forehead.
Kirtsy was on her lunch break when the procession arrived. At first, she hadn’t known what was happening. To the camera, she says:
“I knew when I saw him pull over. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’, and then I saw them pull out from a distance and I stopped. Oh, my heart.”
She adds:
“You never know how much time you have left to live on earth.”
It’s true – we simply never know when our last day might be.
Instead of feeling burdened by this thought, we should use it to make sure we live the most enjoyable, eventful life we can, filled with love, happiness, and kindness – a life we can be proud of.
Kirsty’s video touched the hearts of TikTok users around the world, and currently has more than 260K
likes and 3300 comments.
In the comments, people paid their respects and praised the officer for stopping to salute during the procession.
One person wrote:
“That’s my friend! He just earned his beret Thursday, March 18. Much love and respect for him!!”
He’s certainly a friend to be proud of.
The video prompted discussion about the “normality” of stopping in the road in respect for a procession.
Commenters noted that it’s common to do this in the south, but not so much in the north. Some people shared stories of times they’d traveled up north and stopped their cars while a procession passed, but fellow drivers didn’t do the same.
Though there are no laws about this, it’s certainly a mark of respect for the fallen, no matter where in the country you live.
The video was recorded in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where residents know to pull over in these circumstances.
If your local area doesn’t show respect to the fallen in this way, share the video. The more people who see this, the faster we will spread the word of this beautiful act.
You can watch the touching video just below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
