Final farewell for fallen Federal Way soldier
SEATAC, Wash. -- A Federal Way family said their final farewell Thursday to a soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Specialist Dennis Williams was remembered at SeaTac's Washington Memorial Park with full military honors as a good soldier and a good friend.
Dennis was killed with three fellow soldiers when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. It's been an emotional couple of weeks for Dennis's dad Dan, brother David, mother Cindy, and wife Maria.
The 24-year-old soldier leaves behind 18-month old Alaina, and month-old Grant who was born just 10 days before Dennis shipped out.
Everyone here vowed to keep Dennis's memory alive for his kids.
"They've got good people surrounding them," said friend Ty Hayward. "Strong family group for sure."
Friends said he knew how to make people smile.
"Anytime we were anywhere with him, people were 'there goes Dennis' saying something that would make everybody laugh," said Nick Dillon.
"Everything he wanted to do he was great at," added Hayward. "No doubt in my mind he was a great DJ a great friend and he was a great soldier."
Dennis was in Afghanistan with the 5th Stryker Brigade from Ft Lewis. They'd only been there a month when the bomb exploded.
"That was a dangerous brigade to go out to and everybody knew it," said friend Aaron Sather. "But we were all confident with Dennis and his abilities and the training that he had an everything, but it's unfortunate the way it went down."
While the family thinks about what could have been with a life cut short, Dennis's friends are grateful for what they had.
A public memorial was held for Specialist Dennis Willliams just up the road, but this was a chance for a more private goodbye -- one they wanted to share with you.
Specialist Dennis Williams was remembered at SeaTac's Washington Memorial Park with full military honors as a good soldier and a good friend.
Dennis was killed with three fellow soldiers when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. It's been an emotional couple of weeks for Dennis's dad Dan, brother David, mother Cindy, and wife Maria.
The 24-year-old soldier leaves behind 18-month old Alaina, and month-old Grant who was born just 10 days before Dennis shipped out.
Everyone here vowed to keep Dennis's memory alive for his kids.
"They've got good people surrounding them," said friend Ty Hayward. "Strong family group for sure."
Friends said he knew how to make people smile.
"Anytime we were anywhere with him, people were 'there goes Dennis' saying something that would make everybody laugh," said Nick Dillon.
"Everything he wanted to do he was great at," added Hayward. "No doubt in my mind he was a great DJ a great friend and he was a great soldier."
Dennis was in Afghanistan with the 5th Stryker Brigade from Ft Lewis. They'd only been there a month when the bomb exploded.
"That was a dangerous brigade to go out to and everybody knew it," said friend Aaron Sather. "But we were all confident with Dennis and his abilities and the training that he had an everything, but it's unfortunate the way it went down."
While the family thinks about what could have been with a life cut short, Dennis's friends are grateful for what they had.
A public memorial was held for Specialist Dennis Willliams just up the road, but this was a chance for a more private goodbye -- one they wanted to share with you.
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