GRIFFIN, Ga - A Griffin soldier who planned to come home a new father instead was laid to rest Saturday in his grieving hometown.
Many in the small city of Griffin packed the pews atGriffin First Assembly to pay tribute to 20-year-old Army Specialist Jonathan Davis.
Davis was five weeks into a six month deployment in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan when he was killed by enemy small arms fire.
His first child, a son, is due next month. He will be named Benjamin Jonathan Davis in his honor.
Related: Griffin soldier killed in Afghanistan
Davis' body was brought home Thursday. Crowds in Griffin lined the streets to show support for his family.
Among them was Jane Rodgers, who's son Blake lost his life in Iraq in 2010.
"It brings back a lot of memories from Blake when we brought him home," said Rodgers. "You get stronger. Faith in God, the support from family and the community all helps. We couldn't do it on our own."
In the past nineteen months, Griffin has lost three of its own to war. Blake Rodgers' death was followed by the passing of Jeremy Faulkner in Afghanistan last March. Exactly one year after Faulkner's death came the loss of Jonathan Davis.
"My son came to me and said, 'I want to take my shell and give it to the hero because he'll forever hear the ocean,'" said Brandie Holliday, who brought her children out to pay tribute to Davis.
At Davis' funeral his father, Kerry Davis, said he wanted nothing more than to serve his country then return home to raise his family in the same community he grew up in.
Kerry Davis shared memories of Jonathan as a boy and then tried to console Jonathan's young widow, Kristen, from the podium.
"Oh Lord, Kristen, he loved you so much. I don't have words to express just how much he loved you and looked forward to being your husband and raising Ben," said Kerry Davis.