MIAMI -- Friends and family said goodbye to an American hero Friday night, as the wake for Louis Maxwell, Jr. was held in Opa-Locka.

"What he did really makes all of us proud," said Maxwell's father, Louis Maxwell, Sr.

"The word 'proud' isn't enough to characterize how I feel," Maxwell's mother, Sandra, told Local 10's Rob Schmitt.

A crowd more than 100 strong was on hand to say good-bye, including Maxwell's former co-workers, other guards with the U.N.

Last Wednesday, when Taliban forces raided a U.N. guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan, the U.N. said Maxwell, along with other guards, saved the lives of 34 people. The U.N. says the five guards who died fought off the attack long enough to let those people escape to safety.

"To find out that he got one group out, then he went back to save another lady, and they're saying he saved more than 25 people," Sandra Maxwell said.

Louis Maxwell graduated from Miami Central Senior High School in 2000, a great student and accomplished trumpet player who loved music. He decided to skip college to join the Navy, he later began his work for the U.N. as a security guard. Family members said he loved to live life on the edge.

"He joined the service when he was 17, we knew then he was determined," Maxwell's sister Aijalon Muhummud said.

Maxwell's family is devastated by the loss, but say they are incredibly proud.

"Everytime he'd call he'd say 'Pop, I love you', and I keep hearing his voice saying 'Pop, I love you.'"

The funeral for Louis Maxwell, Jr. will be held Saturday at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens at noon.