ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Support for the family of fallen St. Louis County Police detective Antonio Valentine was evident, after the funeral. A miles-long procession made its way to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
From Cathedral Basilica, the funeral procession headed west on I-64 and then south on I-270. Support for the family of Valentine could be seen at various points, especially over I-270 north of Manchester.
On the J.J. Kelley overpass, an American flag blew in the wind, a testimony to Friday morning’s blustery weather. Bob Mannecke parked his Mann Meats food truck and paid his respects, along with others on the overpass.
Mannecke said, “Every time we have a situation like this we come out and feed the first responders and any spectators who want to come out and see it. We give them free food and drinks and water.”
At 10:32 traffic heading south stopped. Moments later the procession arrived. It took several minutes to pass by, and the back of the procession wound around on I-270, out of sight.
Sue Remspecher brought red, white, and blue props.
Remspecher said, “We pray for first responders, every day, for when they leave their houses. I couldn’t be that wife. So, we’re here to support them.”
Steve Wood explained that he served in the military with Valentine.
“We served together in Kosovo,” said Wood. “Tony was a type of guy who didn’t want a lot of attention for himself, and he would do this for any one of his fallen police officers and other soldiers."
Jean Allen said, “I just want to show his family and other officers that we’re here to support them.”
On a hillside next to I-270, Ben Lamb stood by himself.
Lamb said, “I’m a combat veteran. There are lots of evil people in the world today who don’t care about society. Then, these guys are out there putting their lives out there, every day. We need to support them.”
From there, Valentine’s funeral procession made its way south to Telegraph Road and Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, where he was buried.