Photo of veteran's body displayed with no coffin at funeral home sets internet aflame

A photo showing the body of a 71-year-old U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War laid out on a gurney with an American flag draped over him and no coffin has sparked outrage from thousands on Facebook.

The picture of George Taylor's body was first posted online Friday and has since been shared several thousand times.

Taylor's son, James Taylor, told WTVC his father's body wasn't placed inside of a coffin due to a payment issue between his family and the Heritage Funeral Home in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

Despite agreeing to the final arrangement prior to his father's visitation, Taylor says he felt it was "very disrespectful" to his father's memory. He says the issue arrived amid a pending $9,000 payment from his father's life insurance that was due to come.

Ella Moss, a friend of Taylor's father, posted the image of his dead body on a gurney, flanked by two American flags on stands, to Facebook on the day of the visitation.

"This is how his friends [and] family had to see him," Moss wrote in the photo caption. "I am in total disbelief."

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A few commenters defended the funeral home's decision, shifting blame to Taylor's family for agreeing to the arrangement.

"Smearing the reputation of a funeral home because you disagree with the arrangements that were made is not good practice," one person wrote on Moss's post.

The late veteran, who live in Ringgold, Georgia, was supposed to be buried with military honors at Chattanooga National Cemetary, according to his obituary.