When the war ended, Jerry returned to Mississippi, and he and his wife grew their family to fifteen.

Jerry went on to take office in the state legislature, where — despite being a John F. Kennedy Democrat in 1960s Mississippi — he was voted the most outstanding lawmaker in his freshman class.

In 1973, he was elected mayor. During his two terms, Jerry took a stand against the Ku Klux Klan, at one time singlehandedly rescinding the group's parade permit and throwing them in jail when they still attempted to march.

The KKK called the O'Keefe home in the middle of the night to say that they were coming to kill Jerry. His response? “I will be here ready and waiting.”

To Joe, Jerry had “hero status”:

“He was a towering figure in terms of his courage, willingness to answer call of duty, the length and quality of his public service, and the example that he set and the values that he gave to us.”

When he passed away, Joe and his twelve siblings began reflecting on how to honor such a extraordinary man:

“We did our best as a family in terms of the formality and the majesty of the service. There was a flyover of planes, we had his casket on a horse-drawn carriage, we celebrated at a high mass in the cathedral, we did everything we could.”

As they made their way in the funeral procession from the church to the cemetery, the O'Keefes were moved by various organizations who came out to show their support for Jerry.

Then they saw Kaiden Wade.

Kaiden took the opportunity to pay tribute to war hero Jerry O’Keefe, whom he had never met, and stood on the corner of the street in the rain for 30 minutes with his hand over his heart as the funeral procession passed.

“It was very touching to see him there,” Martha O’Keefe, Jerry’s widow, told the Sun Herald. “It was so touching to see that young man show such respect for Jerry.”

“This young fellow was the symbolism for the youth and vitality that was so present in my Dad,” Cecilia O’Keefe Neustrom, one of Jerry’s daughters, said. “You can't put your finger on what it meant. He was all by himself and he was barefoot, just standing alone in the rain.”

The O’Keefes did not know Kaiden, so they took so social media using a photo snapped from the procession to find out who he was.

Joe O'Keefe, Jerry's youngest son, posted the photo of Kaiden on Facebook asking if anyone knew the boy.

It didn’t take long for the post to go viral and Kaiden’s identity to be revealed to the O’Keefes.

“His face was one of the most moving, inspiring and healing images of the day,” Joe wrote on Facebook. “Young man, you blessed us all.”

Kaiden, speaking with the Sun Herald, said he did it to see the horse-drawn hearse and pay his respects.

“I stood still the whole time,” he said. “I didn’t move a muscle, but I probably blinked a little.”

Kaiden’s father, Kevin Wade, is amazed by his son’s actions.

“He stands not just through the whole procession, but the last police car that came through -- standing still with his hand over his heart,” Kevin told the paper. “It was amazing to me.”

The O’Keefes invited Kaiden to the funeral home and gave him the special gift of a black cap with “World War II Veteran” stitched on the front to express their gratitude.

He also received a commemorative coin that was made for Jerry's 90th birthday, a pocket knife and a book with a touching inscription written by Jeffrey O’Keefe, funeral home president, that said: “The image of you standing in the rain with hand over heart will forever be etched in our lives.”

Sources: Sun Herald (2) / Photo credit: The O'Keefe Family via Sun Herald, Amy Wade via Sun Herald