When a former United States Marine noticed schoolchildren in his town didn’t have a crossing guard to help cross a busy street, he took matters into his own hands.

Cpl. Lewis Alston drove by Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, last year and was shocked to see a student run dangerously between cars in the intersection.

“I said, ‘I’m going to do something about it. I’ll be there for [the children] myself,'” Alston said on Fox and Friends Weekend this morning.

Alston, who had been at a funeral service that day and was still wearing his Marine uniform, jumped in where he saw he was needed, directing traffic and assisting children with crossing the street.

After Alston was told by the Lancaster city authorities there are not enough resources to post crossing guards on every busy street, he has come back every day since in uniform to walk children safely across the street, mornings and afternoons.

With the positive response to his volunteer work in the community, other veterans are planning to step up as crossing guards to not only make the streets safer, but also to give the children the experience of meeting a veteran.

“One little girl said she felt safer that there was a Marine there,” Alston said.

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