New Friends
Roger Reissig reminisces,“I saw him going out to water (Villasenor’s) grave, and I asked him what he was doing.” “He said, ‘I’ve become friends with him now,’” he added. The old widower used to talk to the sergeant while watering his plot. The man had no idea his this little act of kindness was going to make a deep impact on sergeant’s family.
Mother In Tears
When Joseph’s mother Rachel came there she was completely taken aback by the sight. All other graves had dull and yellow grass her son’s grave had green and lustrous grass. As she did not know anything about the efforts of the old man she wondered how was it possible. The sight indeed made her break down in tears.
Thanking Him
Rachel and other family members could not thank Jake enough for being so thoughtful. Rachel said with teary eyes, “It was just incredible to know that a stranger would take that much time and care for our son who he didn’t even know.” Well, there was one more reason why Jake decided to give tribute to the soldier.
An Old Connection
One of Jake’s children Misha had tied the knot with a U.S. army man, Benjamin. However, their marriage shortlived as the man realized he is diagnosed with cancer soon after his deployment. As the disease had grown stronger in him, no medical treatment worked, not even chemo. Unfortunately, he succumbed to the disease in 2011 leaving behind Misha all alone. That unfortunate incident affected Jake a lot and when he listened to Joseph’s wife story, he easily connected himself with her situation. And that is one of the reasons why he decided to honor him.
Not A Surprise
When someone asked Roger about how does he feel about all this, he replied with a big smile on his face, “the way dad treated mom and all of us — it’s not a surprise.” Joseph’s parents wanted to thank Jake for what he had been doing. Roger stated, “Joseph’s parents came out and Rachel thanked him and said, ‘I can’t believe a stranger would do this for him.’”
Selfless Love
It was a very emotional moment for both of the families. One family had come to thank an old man for honoring their dead son who himself had lost his own wife. Roger put out the story on his social account and soon the post got millions of likes. The story went viral!