Sumter Today: Local agencies come together to give a veteran a burial with honors

A small group of people attended a funeral at Fort Jackson National Cemetery in Columbia on Wednesday to honor Airman Basic Jerry Lynn White.

White, a Sumter resident, joined the Air Force at 19 and passed away at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital in November of 2020.

When no family could be found to claim him, the Sumter County Coroner’s Office and the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program worked together and with a handful of other local and Midlands groups to give him a burial with military honors.

The ceremony had limited attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we were there to show you how it went as Sumter Mayor David Merchant accepted a flag on behalf of his family.

We posted some photos from the ceremony on our Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon, and in less than 24 hours, White’s daughter saw it and reached out to us and the groups involved.

Stay tuned through the end of the episode to hear more about what she had to say about the burial program.