NORFOLK, Mass. -- Family and friends of a Norfolk soldier gathered Tuesday to pay their final respects after he was killed in Iraq.

NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that Army Sgt. Adam Kennedy, 25, served in a 4th Brigade infantry division based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, and was sent to his first tour in Iraq in October.

In Norfolk, his parents, David and Nancy Kennedy, celebrated and honored his memory since his death in Iraq on April 8.

Kennedy's family said he was so committed to duty that when he was home he talked about needing to get back to Iraq to help.

"He went out and lived his childhood dream. It was what he wanted to do. I'm proud to be his little brother, and I love him," said Colin Kennedy.

While attending Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Kennedy taught religion to younger students. During the war, he urged other soldiers to pray.

"Our faith is definitely tested in losing someone so close to us all. We can take comfort in Adam's unwavering faith and belief in what he was doing. Adam showed a person living with faith lives on through all of us," friend Gregory Hamilton said.

In his homily, the Rev. Peter Conley said parents burying a child face nature's cruelest demand.