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PRESTON, ID — The body of a soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month is back home in Preston, Idaho Wednesday.
The casket was flown into the Logan airport before making the procession up to Preston. Hundreds of people in the small town lined the streets to pay their respects to fallen soldier Private First Class Cody Moosman. From the Idaho border up, people were standing in the streets, wearing red, white and blue.
"I know that everybody was kind of a little bit emotional," said Moosman family friend and neighbor Lee Ann Vanorden.
People stood with hands over their hearts to welcome Moosman back home.
"I was standing next to somebody I didn't even know, and we got to talking, and we both teared up," Vanorden said.
It just kind of hits home. (He) was just an all-around pretty good kid.
–Lee Ann Vanorden
Vanorden said her daughter grew up with Moosman, which makes Wednesday's return home even more difficult.
"It just kind of hits home," she said. "(He) was just an all-around pretty good kid."
Flags, ribbons and signs surrounded the family's home in Moosman's honor, with family members asking for privacy to mourn their loss.
Vanorden said it has been especially difficult for Moosman's mother.
"She always had a little bit of a feeling that maybe he wouldn't come home," Vanorden said.
Moosman was only 24 year old when his unit was attacked in Afghanistan on July 3.
Family members said in a brief written statement that Moosman had wanted to serve in the military since he was in the third grade. He joined the Army two years ago. Funeral services will be held on Friday.
"That's what he wanted to do, was to serve," Vanorden said.
