PFC Lee Meredith remembered as hero

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Private First Class William Meredith from Virginia Beach died last month in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Tuesday night, his friends and family came together to honor the fallen hero.

Pictures of Private First Class Meredith, better known as a Lee, tell a story of a young man with many, many friends. Still, his father says he was actually quite shy.

"He would look down a lot when he spoke to you but when he did things for you, you knew he was doing it not because he thought there was something to gain out of it, but from the kindness of his heart," said MSGT Lloyd Meredith, Lee's father.

It seems Lee found a place in just about everyone's heart. Especially his best friends, Eddie and Chris. They were the three musketeers.

"Thank you for letting me have Lee in my life as long as I did," said Eddie Lael.

"We argued like brothers, where we were gonna sleep that night, who was going to get the top bunk," said Chris Mahoney.

The Mahoneys took Lee in after Lee's father retired from the Air Force and took a job in Central Virginia.

"When Lee was a soldier, I never saw him prouder than when he came home on leave standing tall, shoulders back and chest high," said Tom Mahoney.

It came as a surprise to his parents. Ten years prior, Lee made a bold statement to his dad, an Air Force recruiter.

"Lee said, 'dad, I aint joining nobody's stinking military,'" said Lee's dad.

But in the army Lee's mother says he found his place, much like he did wherever he went.

"I knew he was special, but all the way from Washington, D.C. to South Hill, Virginia, Cambridge and down here in Virginia Beach, I didn't imagine my son was loved like this," said Cynthia Johnson Meredith-Cromwell.

"He was my hero, my big brother," said Michael Meredith.

Lee left behind two brothers in addition to his parents and countless friends, just a week before he was due to come home.

Now, he's part of something bigger.

"He's in good hands, good company and my heart feels light, my heart feels light," said Lloyd Meredith.