AGAWAM, Mass. — Family and friends, even complete strangers, said good bye to a Massachusetts soldier killed in Afghanistan.
He was laid to rest Tuesday in western Mass, where the community stopped to honor him and his life commitment to fighting for our country.
With just the silence of the traffic rolling by, under the colors of a nation, loved ones said good bye to 31-year-old Army Master Sergeant Luis Deleon Figueroa, a Green Beret killed in combat two weeks ago in Afghanistan.
Chicopee Green Beret's Body Returns HomeA Green Beret from Massachusetts killed in Afghanistan last month is back home. https://boston25.com/34luAL4
Posted by Boston 25 News on Monday, September 2, 2019
Tuesday's funeral was a salute to the father of two, whose home was in Chicopee.
The remains of the sergeant arrived at Westover Air Reserve Base on Monday.
His long-time girlfriend and his two children were the first to approach the casket.
The silence was heartbreaking as they stood before a fallen hero.
Master Sergeant Deleon-Figueroa was a highly decorated Special Forces soldier.
He earned the Bronze Star and spent six deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He enlisted as a teenager and spent 13-years in the Army.
Fellow soldiers say he dedicated his life to being a soldier and fighting for a country he loved so dearly.
He was laid to rest at the Massachusetts Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Agawam.
Cox Media Group