BARNWELL--Guy Buggs, a pudgy, baby-faced boy of 12, filed into his middle school's gymnasium Saturday with his family and strode toward the stage and a coffin shrouded by an American flag.

ALAN HAWES/STAFF Guy Buggs is comforted by his mother Wanda as grandmother Yvonne cries during his father's funeral.

The boy looked at the flag and the flowered wreaths around it and the photographs of his dad -- Sgt. George Edward Buggs, the first South Carolinian to die in the Iraq war -- and he began to sob. His tears and the urgent hugs from his mother suddenly made a distant war seem much closer.

Buggs, fond of cracking his knuckles, a man who, according to a friend, thought his son was "a wonder of the world," was one of eight servicemen found buried in a hospital compound in An Nasiriyah. A special forces team found his body during the daring rescue of Pvt. Jessica Lynch, who returned to the U.S. on Saturday.

On a cloudless spring afternoon, about 500 people filled the gymnasium at Guinyard-Butler Middle School for the funeral. From the beginning, Buggs' grieving son was the focus.

"I see a bit of your father in you," Gov. Mark Sanford said in his remarks. "Guy, I say to you that he was a soldier, a patriot and a father," an example of self-sacrifice for all South Carolinians. Sanford then handed the boy a neatly folded state flag. For a brief moment, both Guy and Sanford appeared unsure of what to do, so Guy simply gave the governor a hug.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Daniel Mongeon said later during the service: "Guy, your father is my hero, and we will not forget him."

Buggs, 31, is one of 110 Americans who have died in the war in Iraq. He had been assigned to the 3rd Forward Support Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Ga. Buggs was with a convoy of 14 soldiers that took a wrong turn March 23 and was attacked by Iraqi tanks. After the attack, Buggs was listed missing in action.

In what officials call one of the proudest moments of the campaign in Iraq, military units learned from an Iraqi doctor that a member of the convoy, Pvt. Lynch, was alive in a hospital guarded by Iraqi soldiers. A special forces unit fought their way into the hospital compound and spirited Lynch away. The commandos also found a burial site. Without any shovels, they dug up the graves by hand and found nine bodies, including the remains of Buggs.

The Army posthumously awarded him a forget him."

Buggs, 31, is one of 110 Americans who have died in the war in Iraq. He had been assigned to the 3rd Forward Support Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Ga. Buggs was with a convoy of 14 soldiers that took a wrong turn March 23 and was attacked by Iraqi tanks. After the attack, Buggs was listed as missing in action.

In what officials call one of the proudest moments of the campaign in Iraq, military units learned from an Iraqi doctor that a member of the convoy, Pvt. Lynch, was alive in a hospital guarded by Iraqi soldiers. A special forces unit fought its way into the hospital compound and spirited Lynch away. The commandos also found a burial site. Without any shovels, they dug up the graves by hand and found nine bodies, including the remains of Buggs.

The Army posthumously awarded him a purple heart and promoted him to staff sergeant.

Friends described Buggs as an easygoing man who kept to himself and liked to cook. Pasta was his specialty. He played the tuba in his high school band. "I met Edward when we were kids, and as boys we played with bicycles, built clubhouses and we fought like kids always do," said Ondrew F. Bellinger, a longtime friend.

After graduating from Barnwell High School, Buggs attended an electronics institute in Charleston, eventually returning to Barnwell, where he and Bellinger joined the National Guard. Buggs later enlisted in the Army.

"Last Christmas," Bellinger said during the service, "while we were walking to the car, he said, 'I love the Army, and they'll have to kick me out if they want to get rid of me.' "

Bellinger said he was angry over his friend's death and has tried to comfort himself by going on long drives, something he used to do with Buggs. During one, he said, "I imagined Edward driving beside me and what he would say to me. He cracked his knuckles and said, 'Hey, man. This is our last ride.' "

While Bellinger and the others spoke, Guy frequently turned in his seat and looked at a group of sixth-grade classmates sitting across the aisle. Grim-faced, they looked back at him, fidgeting in their church clothes.

After the service, Buggs' body was taken to Hope Memorial Park, a cemetery outside Barnwell. A ceremonial detachment from Fort Gordon, Ga., fired a three-round volley. Guy Buggs' classmates released red, white and blue balloons. A soldier held up three rounds and shouted, "Duty, Honor, Country."

Then Taps.

The war has sometimes seemed like a faraway struggle, Samuel Brown, a cousin, said afterward. "His death brings it home. I can't believe he's gone."

As they lowered the casket, Guy, clutching the American flag that had draped his father's casket, walked away, saying under his breath, "I don't want to see this."

Nearby, one of his classmates, Jeffery Walker, 12, said he had been to Guy's house a few days before. They talked about what happened. Walker said he was scared. His father also is in the Army and is in Iraq.

"I told him I hope my Dad will make it through," Walker said, "And Guy just said, 'Keep praying.' "