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Under a gray sky on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, family, friends and fellow service members gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to lay to rest U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Verardo, one of the most catastrophically wounded heroes of the post-9/11 generation.

The paratrooper who survived two IED blasts in Afghanistan and endured 120 surgeries over 15 years was remembered as a patriot, husband and father whose courage outlasted every injury he suffered.

Sgt. Verardo’s story united lawmakers, veterans and military families who witnessed not just how he fought, but how he lived, transforming his long recovery into a mission to serve others through the Independence Fund, which has restored mobility to more than 2,700 severely wounded veterans.

The cerem

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