HALLSTEAD, Pa. — It was a somber morning in Hallstead for the family of Navy veteran Edward Arnold as they prepared to lay him to rest. Arnold died suddenly back in May from a heart attack, and three months later, the family is still mourning his loss and the hole his death has left in the community.
"He did a lot around the community. He was on the ambulance board. He worked for Rob's Market in Great Bend," said his sister Marjorie Cook. "He did a lot."
Arnold enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1970 and spent 22 years serving his country as a flight engineer and company commander. He was a combat air crewman with various squadrons, with his most accomplished tour being with the world-famous Blue Sharks.
Arnold's family says he was proud of his service and wanted to honor his request of being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The family coordinated to have his body escorted by the Patriot Guard Riders to bring him to his final resting place.
"It's an honor," said his daughter Ginny Lord. "That was his dream. That's where he wanted to go. As he put it, '1-800 Navy, take me away.' That's what he said."
"These veterans deserve everything," said Nathan Jacoby with the Patriot Guard Riders. 'I was in the military, and I know what you got to go through, and they deserve everything."
"Family, friends, the country—that was his thing," Lord said.
The hearse carrying Arnold's Body was led from the funeral home in Hallstead by a group of motorcycles for the long ride to Arlington National Cemetery, a somber but meaningful journey for the family.
"One last ride with him, one last trip. We always used to go down to Virginia together to visit my sister who's down there right now, and it's an honor to have him go down there," Lord added.
Edward Arnold's family started a scholarship fund in his memory for area students who plan to enlist in the military.