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A number of social media pages devoted to attracting likes and shares have published a variation of the above-reproduced image, stating that it depicts the last surviving WWII veteran of his battle group crying as he marched alone in a Memorial Day parade and urging viewers to spread the photograph: In early July 2015, a heartbreaking image of a crying older gentleman walking alone on a parade route and carrying a balloon and a bouquet of flowers spiked in popularity once again. Understandably, viewers who came across the photograph wished to know more about the scene captured, many of them believing the image was taken in the United States or England, where variations described the locale as a victory parade or a Memorial Day event (often appearing with the phrase am I alone in here?): A reverse image search reveals that the photograph was not new in 2015, nor did it originate in the U.S. or UK; it originally appeared on Russian sites as early as 2009. The image experienced a popularity surge in England in April 2016, and at that time both the BBC and the Telegraph looked into its origins. The latter obtained some additional details from photographer Alexander Petrosyan, who snapped the picture in St. Petersburg, Russia, in May 2007: Both newspapers noted that the man's identity was unknown, and it unclear whether he was a WWII veteran: Most versions of the image describe the fellow affirmatively as the last veteran of his WWII battle group marching alone in a Victory Day Parade, but Petrosyan possessed the most knowledge about the image and was unable to verify the pictured man's military status. Moreover, since Petrosyan stated that the man was crying because he was unable to catch up with the group of veterans he was marching with, he was not marching alone. Clearly some unsupported details were tacked onto the photograph to add emotional weight to an already sad image.
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