A California police officer who was killed in the line of duty was hailed Saturday as a "Fiji-born American hero" who made the ultimate sacrifice for his adopted country.
At a funeral held for Cpl Ronil (row-neel) Singh, mourners remembered the 33-year-old officer as a hard-working immigrant who worked his way up to become an officer in the small town of Newman.
He "stood so much for what is right in our world and yet unfortunately was taken too soon from us by what is wrong in our world," Modesto police Officer Jeff Harmon said at the service in a Modesto church.
He "probably more than anything else wanted to be home on Christmas night with his wife and his young son, but instead made a selfless choice to serve all of his community knowing that there are many more than just his own family that needed his protection that night."
"He told me about all the pride he had in America, and how much it meant to get this opportunity."
"It is our way of giving back to a country that embraced us and our family."
The Fijian ambassador to the United States, Naivakarurubalavu Solo Mara, said Singh made his mark in his adopted country and called him a "Fiji-born American hero."
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