A driver captured the moment a Kentucky soldier pulled over and got out of his vehicle during a rainstorm to salute a funeral procession Thursday.
“As soon as he got out of the car, it made me tear up,” driver Erin Hester of Vine Grove told Fox News.
Hester, who posted a photo of the touching moment on Facebook and Instagram, noted in her post that she is frustrated when she sees vehicles on the road that do not pull over and stop when a funeral procession takes place.
Under Kentucky law, funeral processions with an escort are granted the right-of-way at intersections, except when emergency vehicles need to pass.
She added that the soldier “went above and beyond” what is required and showed respect for the deceased and their family.
“It was amazing that he wasn’t only respecting the deceased, but also respecting a family that he doesn’t even know,” Hester said.
The photo, which shows the soldier saluting a hearse in a downpour, has been liked more than 179,000 times and shared more than 125,000 times.
The identity of the soldier, whom the funeral procession was for, and whether or not the procession honored someone who served in the military remains unknown. The act did, however, take place near Fort Knox Army Base.
Other soldiers have honored funeral processions in the pouring rain these past few months.
One soldier stationed at Fort Hood in Texas stood in the pouring rain on a highway in April to salute a veteran’s funeral procession.