Hundreds gathered in Kingsland Wednesday morning to say farewell to Sergeant Mark Stone of Buchanan Dam.

The 22-year-old was killed on April 28 in Baghdad.

Friends of Stone sang to him Wednesday morning, his casket draped in the American flag, in the same church where he came to know God.

“He was a great Christian man and a great American and we honor him today,” said his longtime friend, Reverend Calven McCreary.

Stone worshiped at Cavalry Hill Church in Kingsland as a child. As an adult, before deploying for Iraq, he prayed with his friends for his safe return home.

“I remember telling Mark, it's okay to be afraid. It doesn't mean you're not a hero because you're afraid. You're a hero because you do what you have to do. You do what you're trained to do. You do what your country calls you to do,” said McCreary.

“I don't know God's plan, but I do know this -- no man, no bullet, no shrapnel -- nothing could have taken his life unless the Lord called him home,” said Pastor Joannie Jackson.

Friends wiped away tears as they remembered the quiet man with a strong work ethic, who shared a love for Christ and a love for his country.

Those friends rose to their feet as Stone left his childhood church for the last time.

Patriot Guard riders joined family and friends at the gravesite

It was a time of hurt and grief, but Stone's friends also have hope they will see him again.