(CNN) Thousands of people, some of whom drove hundreds of miles, packed the funeral of a Korean War veteran they'd never met when they heard his family couldn't come.

Hezekiah Perkins had prepared for the funeral more than 20 years ago. He'd prepaid for the ceremony and the burial, the funeral home said on its Facebook page.

But when the day finally came this week, Perkins' relatives couldn't make the trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, because of health issues.

Thousands from the community came to pay their respects.

So, Spring Grove Funeral Home put out a plea to the community. The funeral home asked them to come fill the chairs to honor the legacy of a man who fought for the US Army in the Korean War in the 1950's.

"We had no idea what the response was going to be," said the funeral home's Director of Operations Skip Phelps.

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