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Funeral Home Workers Leave Casket in Plain View During Coffee Stop

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hearse casket dunkin donuts

A pair of funeral home workers in Florida recently found themselves in hot water when they stopped off to get a coffee at Dunkin Donuts and left their hearse double-parked in the lot out front. Oh, and there’s also the little matter of the American-flag-strewn casket of a Korean War and Vietnam veteran left on display in the back for the world to see.

The coffin seen in the image contained the body of Ltc. Jesse Coleman, who died at age 84. His military career included one tour in Korea and two tours in Vietnam.

According to WFLA, passerby Rob Carpenter was so incensed at the lack of respect shown that he took a photo of the hearse and the clearly-visible coffin and sent them along to local group Veteran Warriors, who then in turn spread the image across the internet.

“None of our brothers or sisters deserve to be an afterthought,” said Veteran Warriors founder Lauren Price. “And if it’s an imposition to transfer one of our brothers or sisters to their final rest, then the person who’s doing that transporting should be in a different business.”

Price’s wish was granted when, after some soul-searching, Veteran’s Funeral Care owner Jim Rudolph decided to terminate his two long-time employees for their actions.

“They were good employees and didn’t want to go out like this,” Rudolph said. “In this business, you can’t have a redo if you tarnish someone’s memory.”

Apart from the coffee mishap, Coleman’s funeral was said to be “beautiful.” He is set to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

News Source: WFLA