Public is invited to homeless veteran’s funeral, Muscogee County sheriff says

As Veteran’s Day nears, the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help to put a homeless veteran to rest.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Roger Enright will be buried at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at Fort Mitchell National Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Alabama, and the public is invited to attend.

He served in the United States Navy from 1963 until 1971, and passed away in the emergency room of Piedmont Columbus Regional on Oct. 9.

Retired Master Sgt. Patricia Liddell was one of the people involved with planning the funeral. After she got a call from the coroner’s office about Enright, she immediately began making calls to find not only his family, but other people and organizations that could help get him buried.

This is Liddell’s second time helping bury homeless veterans. Just last month she helped bury two homeless veterans who had families that weren’t interested in being involved with their funerals, she said.

Liddell said that they were able to locate a member of Enright’s family, but she was unable to afford funeral expenses. Liddell, a local mortuary and other organizations were able to get Enright a final resting place at Fort Mitchell National Cemetery.

She’s not sure how Enright ended up in Georgia from California, but said she likes to make sure all veterans can get the proper burial they deserve.

“I tend to be the person to get stuff like this squared away. I try to make sure that I can go get them a suit for a discounted price and try to make sure that they’re not buried in a sheet,” Liddell said.

Liddell is asking for all veterans, community members, active-duty members and more come out and show their respects to Enright Friday morning.

“It is up to us as a community to take charge to ensure that this veteran, unlike so many, will not be left behind,” Liddell said in a press release.