A Marine from Palm City is laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery

It's been months since the flag-lined processional of his funeral and since his widow laid the final rose on his casket.

Lance Corporal Justin Wilson's father, Lance Wilson, tells NewsChannel 5 by phone that his son made "the ultimate sacrifice" when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan on March 22nd.

It was just two months before he was scheduled to return home to Palm City.

Instead of a welcome home party for the 24-year-old newlywed, these stinging goodbyes which were no the last.

Today the honor his family has waited for since his death came as the Marine's ashes were laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.

"We thought about Arlington but we thought it was too far away from us...but the hero he was, he deserves to be there," Lance Wilson says.

He was buried with full honors in a 20-minute-long ceremony with his family and members of his unit in attendance.

Wilson explains,"They all came up as a group, got down and said a prayer and they said their goodbyes. That was a touching moment for me."

It brought much pride and also much pain.

Wilson says, "It was hard to relive everything again but we felt we belonged there."

And there is where he'll stay - in a place the Marine's family knows his service will never be forgotten.

Wilson explains, "He's a hero and he'll always be a hero and thousands of people will be walking by there and they'll pass by and look at his headstone and know that he fought for this country and believed in what he was fighting in."