PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KMPH) -
There are no sufficient words to describe the grief of a mother burying her son.
"Still numbness, got to do this, this, this and this and get through. And then we'll let whatever comes, comes," Jennifer Avery said.
Avery is one of few who knows exactly how A.J. Pardo's mother, Kate, feels.
"We lost our son, Jeffrey Avery, April 23rd, 2007. He was in an IED blast in Iraq," Avery said.
But now 21–year–old A.J. Pardo's family must bear the unthinkable pain of his sacrifice.
One by one, hundreds lined the fence around Holy Cross Catholic Church Tuesday.
"There's nothing you can say to make somebody feel better, just God bless," Melvin Durough said.
But so many of them had one thing in common.
"No I didn't know him. But this is America. He died for us, so there's not enough you can do for somebody like that," Durough said.
Those who did know him say he was a man who believed in prayer, like the time when he was just 12–years–old, visiting a family cemetery with his grandma and she found him kneeling at a headstone.
"And she asked him what he was doing. What are you doing? And he said to her, I just felt like this person needed prayer," the priest told the congregation at Pardo's funeral.
Private Pardo was laid to rest at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Porterville.
He was buried with full military honors.
"I love you's are always important," Avery said.
It was a scene Jennifer Avery remembers well. She said this won't be the toughest day for A.J.'s family.
"Tomorrow will be the hardest day, because people will go home and you'll be there and not know what to do," Avery said.
During his funeral, military personnel presented A.J.'s mom with his bronze medal and Purple Heart.
Five other soldiers died in the July 8th attack that killed A.J. Pardo.
The names of his fallen comrades were read during his funeral Tuesday.
