Two F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets from the USS Ronald Reagan streaked across overcast skies above an East Maui cemetery Saturday afternoon in a final tribute to Kraig M. Vickers, who was among 30 U.S. service members killed Aug. 6 when a Chinook helicopter was shot down by insurgents in central Afghanistan’s Wardak province.

Vickers, 36, was a decorated senior chief petty officer and explosive ordnance disposal specialist attached to a Navy SEAL team based in Virginia Beach, Va., where he lived with his wife, Nani, and their two children, Kala’i, 7, and Malie, 4. His wife, whose last name was Flores when she played basketball for the University of Hawaii in the 1990s, is due to give birth to a daughter next month.

The flyover was a fitting cap to a day filled with dignified, solemn and at times festive remembrances of the Navy hero, who was laid to rest at Valley Isle Memorial Park overlooking the ocean near his childhood home in Kokomo, Haiku.

Several dozen Navy SEALs, explosive ordnance disposal specialists and other personnel from all branches of the military who traveled from Honolulu, California and Virginia had joined more than 1,000 mourners at a morning memorial service at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului. Also present were U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa and Rear Adm. Michael Tillotson, commander of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.

Among those waiting in line to file past Vickers’ flag-draped casket were Ed and Diane Stelling, vacationing from Lake Forest, Calif. They said they didn’t know Vickers but felt compelled to attend the memorial service.

"We’re proud of our servicemen and women and wanted to pay our respects," said Ed Stelling, his voiced choked with emotion.

"To us it’s important," said his wife.

Asked what she would like to say to the Vickers ohana, she replied, "Thank you."

The large crowd was just as much a testament to the entire Vickers family and their strong Christian faith. Many remarked on the clan’s impact on the community.

Marc Hodges, a former Maui police officer, brought daughter Caeley, 7, to the memorial service. He said he didn’t know Kraig Vickers but had worked with both his father, Robert Vickers Sr., and his brother, Mark Vickers, at the police department. Hodges said the two men led Bible study for other officers.

"Mr. Vickers Sr. had a profound influence on my life. He’s one of the reasons I accepted Jesus Christ into my life. The whole family has touched a lot of people," he said.

Kraig Vickers was a standout football player and wrestler at Maui High School, graduating in 1992. Those who knew him described him as a natural leader and a bit of a prankster.

Before the memorial service, Kraig’s oldest brother, Robert Vickers Jr., recalled the day in 1996 when the younger man surprised his family with the news that he had enlisted. "I was sitting down at the kitchen table with my dad and he came in and said, ‘Guess what? I joined the Navy.’"

Robert Vickers Jr. said his brother set a blue cup on the table, signifying a four-year enlistment. Then he produced a second blue cup. "’They said they’d give me another cup if I signed up for another two years and I said, "Sure!"’

He became an explosive ordnance diver and technician, serving on Guam and in Bahrain before being transferred to Pearl Harbor in 2002. While there he met Nani and the two married in 2003. After rigorous training, Vickers was selected to be a Naval Special Warfare Development Group operator, completing numerous deployments that earned him four Bronze Stars medals with Valor, two Purple Hearts and a dozen other medals and commendations.

A slide show at the service featured Vickers playing at the beach and at home with his wife and children, and almost as proud holding up two giant parrotfish he caught while diving, one of his passions. He was also seen on deployment in Afghanistan, smiling and at ease despite the peril close at hand.

A Navy specialist who served with Vickers called him a "fearless warrior" and recounted a harrowing mission in 2010 that earned the Maui man one of his two Purple Hearts. Kerry Mitchell said that after a grueling six-hour patrol down a mountainous river bed in Afghanistan, the team engaged in an intense firefight with insurgents. Amid the chaos, one member of the patrol was caught in an exposed position and hit by enemy fire coming from a goat stable.

Mitchell said he watched as Vickers climbed atop the stable roof and "kept pushing forward with fearlessness toward the entrance." As Vickers readied to pull the pin on a grenade, the insurgents fired up through the mud and straw roof, hitting him in the arm.

According to Mitchell, Vickers switched the grenade to his good hand and "crawled on his hands and knees to the edge of roof, even with bullets flying around him." He tossed the grenade deep into the stable and then draped his gun over the edge of the roof, firing inside the structure until another team member pulled him to safety.

"You ask me about courage and bravery, and I will tell you about this night and what Kraig Vickers did," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he last saw Vickers about three days before he died. They had just gotten back from a mission and Mitchell had found out his pregnant wife was in the hospital with pre-term labor and that he would be returning stateside a few hours later.

"I started to clean up and pack and Kraig walked into the room and started talking …I’ve never seen him talk so much — diapers, milk, hormones, childbirth … he was more excited than I was. I shook his hand and hugged him tight like a brother. The last words he said to me were, ‘Let me tell you, you’re going to love it more than anything, and good luck.’"

Mitchell’s baby was born last month. "You were right. I love it more than anything," he said.

After a brief service at the cemetery, a helicopter dropped flowers over the scene and four civilian skydivers from Skydive Hawaii silently circled overhead before thrilling onlookers with their dramatic landings. Moments later, the two Navy jets shot out from the clouds to the east and just as quickly vanished.

Vickers is also survived by his mother, Mary, a daughter, Makahea, his brother, Vance, and sister, Michelle.

Hawaii News Now video: Hundreds bid farewell to fallen Navy man from Maui