Bells chiming in the distance and a soft, quiet new layer of snow covering the ground at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Friday might have made a perfect juxtaposition to the man and Marine being buried that morning.

Prior Marine Staff. Sgt. R. Lee Ermey lived his life in a way that was “outspoken, rebellious, and creative," as his obituary states, even until his last breaths at 74 years old.

Ermey, or “the Gunny" as he’s known from his most famous acting role — he appeared in more than 60 feature films — as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in the legendary 1987 Marine film, “Full Metal Jacket,” died April 15, 2018, in his home state of California from complications with pneumonia.

And now, nine months later, the iconic Marine drill instructor has finally been laid to rest.

Marines from the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. (8th and I) fold the U.S. flag during military funeral honors for Ronald Lee Ermey in Section 82 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 18, 2019. (Elizabeth Fraser/Army)
Marines from the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. (8th and I) fold the U.S. flag during military funeral honors for Ronald Lee Ermey in Section 82 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 18, 2019. (Elizabeth Fraser/Army)

Marines are known for having an element of surprise, and “Ron always had that element of surprise,” Ermey’s brother Terry said alongside another brother, Jack, in some remarks to family and friends after the official military ceremony.

Ermey had decided to buy a unicycle at age 60 and had tried to learn how to ride, two of his six children, Betty and Clinton Ermey, said in remarks about their father.

There also was the time he bought a full buffalo robe and had to wear it on the airplane in order to get it home, the now-retired 12th Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Harold Overstreet recalled.