No one should be laid to rest alone. That’s why officials in Gloucester County are calling on the community to help give one decorated U.S. Army veteran the funeral he deserves.

Robert Grala, 70, died of natural causes in January. The Williamstown resident earned several awards after serving in the army for two years in South Korea.

The county board of freeholders is calling on residents to attend Grala’s burial next Monday at the Gloucester County Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

“Although Mr. Grala has no known family, he was part of the military family,” Gloucester Freeholder Director Robert Damminger said in a statement. “His time on earth and in the service mattered.”

Grala earned the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Army Good Conduct Medal for his service.

“The Gloucester County Veterans Cemetery is a place of dignity and respect, exactly the place Mr. Grala and all of the veterans of our community deserve to be interred," Freeholder Dan Christy, liaison to the county’s Department of Veterans Affairs, said. “We are honored to spread the word so that he is laid to rest surrounded by fellow veterans and neighbors.”

In January, more than 1,000 strangers attended the funeral of Peter Turnpu, a Vietnam veteran from Waterford who had no known family or friends. Turnpu, who was an Estonian immigrant and served in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1966, died alone from natural causes.

Bob Jonas, the interment officer at the veterans cemetery, said he’s confident the community will answer the call to honor Grala.

“Whenever we put out a statement to say we’re setting flags for Memorial Day and ask for help to honor the veterans, we have hundreds of people showing up,” Jonas said. “I think the public really understands what veterans do, and they show support. Even if you haven’t served, you feel that duty to honor a person.”

Williamstown resident Jean Fulks, who lived in the same boarding house as Grala, said he was “very laid back” and kept to himself most of the time. He grew up near Philadelphia, enjoyed being outdoors and volunteered two days a week for the now-closed Guardian Adult Day Care program for more than 18 years in Glassboro.

“He was a great tenant, and a really likable person,” Fulks said of Grala, who lived at the home for 34 years.

Grala will be buried with full Military Honors April 22 at 11 a.m. at the Gloucester County Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 240 North Tuckahoe Road in Williamstown.

Gianluca D’Elia may be reached at gdelia@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @gianluca_delia.

Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.