As a Marine for three years, Clarence Vaughn was taught many values he would not have learned otherwise. 

“To my dad, being a Marine meant honor, tradition, to have work ethic, having order to everything,” said Cyndi Vaughn, the Silver Stars coach and dance teacher. “It taught him to be a man.”

That is why Cyndi Vaughn and her siblings wanted a military service at her father’s burial service at Houston National Cemetery on Oct. 8. They did not realize the challenges they would face though. 

When planning the burial, Cyndi Vaughn and her siblings found out that the military would only perform one time. Clarence Vaughn’s wife had already had the military service at the funeral. That left Vaughn and her siblings with no way to honor their dad at his burial. 

“After I found out, I just sat on my phone and was looking at YouTube videos of different burial services at national cemeteries, and it just clicked,” Vaughn said. “We have a JROTC here.” 

She reached out to Master Sgt. Anthony Bullock, the JROTC instructor at Kingwood Park. He immediately got to work helping. He went to the bookkeeper and ordered a flag, started organizing his cadets and provided a script and a service without hesitation. 

In addition, sophomore Elijah Vasquez played “Taps,” which plays daily in the military to signal the day is over. It has also been designated as the National Song of Remembrance.

“My band director chose me because she knew I would do it and be respectful,” Vasquez said. “Ms. Vaughn was grateful I was playing, and kept thanking me.”

When Bullock first read Vaughn’s email, Bullock said he felt respected and proud that she wanted to specifically reach out to the JROTC. He was confident in the cadets’ ability to perform at a function that is usually reserved for a professional organization.

When it was time for the burial, the JROTC students and Vasquez arrived before the Vaughn family. The JROTC students practiced the folding of the flag. Vasquez looked to find the perfect place to play “Taps” on his trumpet.

“I felt honored to have her have that much respect and confidence in us – teenagers – to perform it well,” senior ROTC cadet Noe Ortega said. “I felt proud.”

The entire situation was one Vaughn said her father would have loved.

Growing up, Clarence Vaughn loved high school. He had seven brothers and sisters, so Cyndi Vaughn said going to school was his way of making new friends and exploring his personality. He learned his values and character from his teachers. Cyndi Vaughn said he was a friends-walking-to-school-together type of man. 

Clarence Vaughn treated the Marines the same way. 

“In his old pictures I always see him with a group,” Cyndi Vaughn said. “When he is alone he is writing a letter, or on the phone, and in the background there was always a buddy Marine doing something goofy, so he always surrounded himself with fun people too.”

That camaraderie he loved was evident even at the burial as his daughter was surrounded by those Kingwood Park student volunteers.

“They were so professional and so respectful and very organized,” Vaughn said. “It was really special that they wanted to do that.”

This story was originally published on KP Times on October 29, 2024.