Family and friends said goodbye on Monday to a 19-year-old Marine killed in Afghanistan last month.
Lance Cpl. Terry Honeycutt Jr. was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery after a funeral in La Plata, Md. that some 1,000 people showed up to defend from the notorious protests of the Westboro Baptist Church.
A sea of U.S. flags waved among a crowd clad in black t-shirts that read, "Thank You T.J."
The message for the young Marine was clear, as was the message to funeral protesters: Stay away. Westboro members reportedly kept their distance, carrying hateful signs about a mile away from the funeral.
Honeycutt's flag-draped casket was later taken to the cemetery, where loved ones silently wiped away tears with clenched fists. His family members have recounted how Honeycutt decided to join the military as soon as he was old enough, citing his desire to "make a difference in the world."
Honeycutt, a graduate of North Point High School in Waldorf, Md., died while fighting Oct. 21 in Afghanistan. It was while he was doing "what he wanted to be doing," his mother told The Washington Post.
Honeycutt was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service medals.
