UNION COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- Fifteen years after he was wounded in war, Sgt. Michael Verardo, a Union County, North Carolina soldier who died on Aug. 26, from combat injuries sustained in Afghanistan in 2010, was laid to rest on Tuesday at Weddington Methodist Church with full military honors.

His funeral drew dignitaries from all over the country.

A warrior never dies.

“Sergeant Michael Verardo’s story is one of fearlessness and courage, sacrifice and perseverance,” said former Vice President Mike Pence during the funeral service.

Verardo, a paratrooper with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, did not stop fighting.

“Sergeant Michael Verardo had the heart of a lion. He was the best of the best of America,” said Jennifer Griffin, chief National Security correspondent for Fox

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