Comrades give homeless vet a final send off

It is known that David Marcus Coty was born in Peekskill, New York, in 1949 and died at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn on April 25, but what happened in the 73 years in between is a bit of a mystery.

He served in the U.S. Air Force between 1967 and 1970 and he had said he worked as a chiropractor when he returned home. When he died of natural causes this spring, he was indigent, on the verge of homelessness and no friends or family stepped up to make his final arrangements.

But as he was laid to rest at Calverton National Cemetery on Monday, an estimated three dozen veterans and others who did not know him in life stood watch and paid respects. Six fellow vets he never met served as pallbearers and he was given a funeral service with U.S. Air Force honors.

Charles Spencer, vice president of Boyd-Spencer Funeral Home in Babylon, handled the funeral and put out the call to local American Legion and V.F.W. organizations and other groups to attend the funeral.

“Otherwise it’d be just me and Dave Coty going to the cemetery by ourselves,” he said. “What kind of way is that to go? You spend your whole life and then there's nobody to go with you?”

Coty's mourners included local members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group that formed in 2005 to shield families of deceased loved ones during funeral services. Today the group’s more than 300,000 nationwide members primarily attend funerals to pay respect to veterans and first responders.

Patriot Guard Rider member Bill Michell, a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam and lives in Hicksville, led the procession on his Harley Davidson. He said he attends about 50 funerals a year including a monthly service at Calverton to honor veterans buried there without families.

“Just because there is no family, there is no reason they should be forgotten,” Michell said.

The only people in attendance who knew Coty while he was alive were a group of caseworkers with the housing nonprofit Services for the Underserved, which serves New York City and Long Island. Coty became connected with the group when he was being evicted from his home through the Huntington veterans nonprofit Angels for Warriors, but he died before the eviction process was completed.

“He lived a quiet life. And yeah, he was alone, but that's what he wanted,” said caseworker Rebecca Panarello, adding she appreciated the strong showing of support. “He probably would have thought it was a little much, I'm not going to lie.”

Panarello said Coty was a funny, private man who relished his quiet and peaceful life.

“I really hope that you all leave here knowing he lived and he lived well,” she told the gathered mourners.

Boyd-Spencer performed the service for free, said Spencer, who is the local chairman of the Homeless Veterans Burial Program for Dignity Memorial, a nationwide network of funeral directors. The group has provided 1,700 funerals to homeless veterans, according to its website.

Spencer said he couldn’t find out much about Coty other than what was listed on his military paperwork. He served at the Eglin Air Force Base, south of Valparaiso, Florida, and held the rank of airman basic or E-1. He also served overseas during the Vietnam War, but not in combat, and was discharged under honorable conditions.

Unsure of Coty’s faith, Spencer said an eagle rather than a cross or Star of David would be displayed on his tombstone. He read Psalm 23, which is used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies, during a brief service at the funeral home.

“A prayer is a prayer no matter who you are,” Spencer said.

To honor Coty, Spencer had the poem displayed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery printed on the prayer cards. It reads: “Here rests in Honored glory an American Soldier Known but to God.”

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.