Soldier Laid To Rest In Oklahoma City

News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- Oklahomans remember a hometown hero.  Friends and family said goodbye to Specialist Jason Hinton in Oklahoma City on Saturday.

The 28-year-old soldier had been batting lung cancer for more than a year.  He was diagnosed with the disease while preparing for a deployment to Iraq with the 45th Infantry.

"He kind of expected to get cancer at some point. We just didn't think so young because his father died in his early 40's from cancer, so he always knew it was a possibility.  We just weren't expecting it a week after he turned 27," said his widow, Samantha Laws-Rodriguez.

Hinton's family says he loved serving his country so much; he re-enlisted in the National Guard just three days before he died.