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Funeral Held For Fairhaven Marine Killed In Afghanistan

Matthew Rodriguez's casket is carried out of First Congregational Church in Fairhaven, following his funeral. (Bruce Gellerman/WBUR)
Matthew Rodriguez's casket is carried out of First Congregational Church in Fairhaven, following his funeral. (Bruce Gellerman/WBUR)

Hundreds of people stood in the rain to honor a U.S. Marine from Fairhaven killed in combat operations in Afghanistan.

While friends of family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Rodriguez filled the First Congregational Church on Monday for his funeral, others, mostly strangers, held U.S. flags outside.

Matthew Rodriguez, in an undated yearbook photo (Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School)
Matthew Rodriguez, in an undated yearbook photo (Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School)

He was buried at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

The 19-year-old Rodriguez died Dec. 11 during combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Rodriguez graduated in 2012 from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School and enlisted in the Marines in August 2012.

Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Rep. William Keating were among the dignitaries who attended the funeral.

This article was originally published on December 23, 2013.

This program aired on December 23, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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