LUBBOCK, Texas — Lubbock veterans lost a special member in their community last week when 70-year-old Tom Sandoval passed away. The veteran served for three years in the United States Marine Corps and worked at Home Depot in Lubbock for 15 years, but he suddenly fell into a coma a few weeks ago.
When a friend found out about his state, they realized he was alone at the hospital.
“He’d been there five days, and nobody knew he was there,” Jeff Edwards, a friend of Sandoval’s, said.
Sandoval wasn’t alone much longer. After getting word, fellow veterans and Sandoval’s co-workers at Home Depot stepped in as his family and joined him at University Medical Center.
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“He remained in the hospital for about another week, and I don’t think there was a time when people weren’t there with him,” Edwards said.
When Sandoval passed away last Thursday, his new family waited along the hallways of the UMC for his honorable send-off. His Home Depot friends paid their respects with a Home Depot cheer, and his brothers in combat did the same by giving salutes and playing taps.