(CNN) He was known around town as the friendly homeless man who would happily chat about anything -- the weather, sports or whatever passersby wanted to talk about. But when John Meade died in St. Augustine, Florida, late last year, police realized he had rarely talked about himself. They had no one to call to deliver the news.

He "never bothered anybody. He never asked for anything," St. Augustine police officer Steven Fischer told CNN. "You could sit and talk with him for an hour or 10 minutes. It didn't matter to John. He was just there."

Fischer was assigned to track down the man's family. He searched for hours, but ultimately came up short -- there was no family record to be found.

He did discover one piece of information: John Meade served in the US Army from 1966 to 1968. And a veteran, Fischer said, deserved to be recognized for his service with a proper burial.

John Meade Jr. was known around his community as the friendly homeless man.

"I contacted our local VA chapter here. I gave them all of John's information and they were able to confirm that he was an honorably discharged veteran," Fischer said. "Getting him in a national cemetery with military honors is the least that I could do for him. He served our country and he did it well."

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