An outpouring of people gathered at a gravesite to pay their final respects to a veteran they never knew. It was a final salute for a sailor in Troy.

"What a community, what a wonderful group of people," said Paul Coffey.

Bradford Parker died at the age of 66 this week. The Troy native served in the Navy in the 1970s, and Friday morning, he was expected to be buried alone. 

The Reverend Francis Kelly society honors local heroes, and Coffey is the co-chairman for the organization. When the organization heard of Parker's death, it spread the word through emails and social media.

"No one should die alone, and no veteran should go unrecognized," Coffey said.

It was shared over and over and caught the attention of hundreds. It also uncovered a piece of his life no one expected to find.

"The Veterans Administration had the body for 11 days; no relatives, no friends. We discovered he had a sister in Ballston Spa," Coffey said.

Sharron Nirsberger had not seen her brother in about a year and found out about his passing through that email.

"I didn't know, nobody knew. Thank God for social media," Nirsberger said.

She says she found out in just in enough time to say her final goodbyes and is overwhlemed by the outpouring of community support.

"This is all I have left; this is my brother's flag, and the three bullets [are a] salute to him," Nirsberger said.