--- description: Aaron Toppen, 19, was killed earlier this month in a deadly friendly fire airstrike during a firefight in Afghanistan. title: The Final Trip Home: A Young Soldier's Funeral in Photos image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ae009dd09b4d273/698698ce1eebf706bf37191c/last-trip-home-aaron-toppen-soldier-funeral-10.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Military](/tag/military/) ## Military Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Final Trip Home: A Young Soldier's Funeral in Photos by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 5:42 PM CUT  U.S. Army Sgt. Brant Sharp waits outside a chapel at Vandenberg Funeral Home as family members spend a quiet moment with the remains of Pfc. Aaron Toppen on June 22, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. U.S. Army Sgt. Brant Sharp waits outside a chapel at Vandenberg Funeral Home as family members spend a quiet moment with the remains of Pfc. Aaron Toppen on June 22, 2014 in Mokena, Ill.Scott Olson—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 5:42 PM CUT  Supporters show their respect as the family of Pfc. Aaron Toppen arrive at Midway Airport to claim his remains on June 21, 2014 in Chicago. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Soldiers carry the remains of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen to a hearse after they arrived at Midway Airport on a charter aircraft from Dover Air Force Base on June 21, 2014 in Chicago. Scott Olson—Getty Images  An Army honor guard places the remains of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen into a hearse at Midway Airport on June 21, 2014 in Chicago. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A flag is attached to a barn next to the funeral home where the remains of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen were taken on June 21, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Supporters wait for a procession carrying the remains of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen to arrive at the funeral home on June 21, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A friend of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen wears a shirt and button in his memory on June 21, 2014 in Chicago. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Supporters watch as the remains of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen arrive at the funeral home on June 21, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. Scott Olson—Getty Images  A VFW honor guard stands at attention as the remains of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen are carried into the funeral home on June 21, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Family members watch as the remains of Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen are carried into the funeral home on June 21, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. Scott Olson—Getty Images  U.S. Army Sgt. Brant Sharp waits outside a chapel at Vandenberg Funeral Home as family members spend a quiet moment with the remains of Pfc. Aaron Toppen on June 22, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Jackie Rozek spends a quiet moment with the remains of her long-time boyfriend, U.S. Army Pfc. Aaron Toppen in a chapel at Vandenberg Funeral Home on June 22, 2014 in Mokena, Ill. Scott Olson—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2912398/soldier-funeral-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2912398/soldier-funeral-photos/"},"headline":"The Final Trip Home: A Young Soldier's Funeral in Photos","datePublished":"2014-06-23T17:42:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:13.556Z","description":"Aaron Toppen, 19, was killed earlier this month in a deadly friendly fire airstrike during a firefight in Afghanistan.","url":"https://time.com/2912398/soldier-funeral-photos/","keywords":["Military","Afghanistan","U.S.","Funeral","chicago","Soldier","Illinois","Soldiers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ae009dd09b4d273/698698ce1eebf706bf37191c/last-trip-home-aaron-toppen-soldier-funeral-10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ae009dd09b4d273/698698ce1eebf706bf37191c/last-trip-home-aaron-toppen-soldier-funeral-10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Aaron Toppen Soldier Funeral Illinois Afghanistan","caption":"Aaron Toppen Soldier Funeral Illinois Afghanistan","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2912398/soldier-funeral-photos/","name":"The Final Trip Home: A Young Soldier's Funeral in Photos"}}]}] ```