Community comes together to grant Marine veteran's dying wish

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- A community came together to grant a homeless Marine veteran his dying wish, reports KOCO in Oklahoma City.

Donnie Loneman served his country with honor and grace, but for the last 10 years, he's been homeless.

The news got worse for Loneman as he was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and given three weeks to live.

"Donnie was his own person," said Christine Cleary with the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City. "He did what he wanted and a lot of people fell in love with him for that."

Loneman wasn't afraid to die. He wanted to be buried in a dress uniform, something he no longer had and couldn't afford.

"He said, 'I'm going to enter the gates and I'm going to tell all the Marines that are standing there that they're relieved of duty," said Cleary.

And after he passed on Thursday, the VA and several veterans organizations came together to make that happen. But they went beyond that. They paid for his funeral and honor guard.

Now, he'll be buried with the same honor in which he served our country.