Western Michigan residents have welcomed home the remains of a 24-year-old Army medic who died from injuries he sustained while serving in Afghanistan.
Spc. Zachary Shanafelt of Grand Rapids was hurt in an accident last year and died Nov. 21 at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington.
People holding American flags turned out along the motorcade route Thursday as his body was driven from Gerald Ford International Airport to Pederson Funeral Home in Rockford. Mlive.com says police cars and members of the Michigan Patriot Guard led the procession.
The funeral is at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Survivors include wife Marina, 13-month-old son Daniel, parents Patrick and Gloria Shanafelt, and brothers Christopher and Silas Shanafelt.
Shanafelt was a 2006 graduate of Creston High School and enlisted in 2009.
