By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Four Hooksett firefighters, dressed in their class A uniforms, recently stood firmly at attention while some 600 mourners passed by.

"We were standing there for about 15 to 20 minutes, and that's pretty tough," said Stephan David. "If you get an itch, you don't scratch it. If you don't have a tear rolling down your cheek, you don't wipe it."

David, along with Daniel Silva, John Hill and Earl Lincoln, were among the scores of firefighters from around the country who recently descended upon a small farming community in rural Maryland.

Hooksett firefighters Daniel Silva, R. Stephan David, John Hill and Earl Lincoln recently honored 101 firefighters in Emmitsburg, Md., who died in the line of duty in 2004 (Courtesy Photo)

Their destination was the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Md., where the more than 100 firefighters from 37 states who lost their lives last year were being honored.

The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial honored 101 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2004, and six others who died in previous years.

For Hooksett's firefighters, members of the department's Honor Guard, the memorial marked a time to both support surviving friends and family, and to honor their peers.

"It doesn't matter what different walks of life they came from, everyone gets equal treatment and respect," said Silva. "With the brotherhood of the fire department, it makes you feel like you've lost a brother," said David.

David and Silva each said part of the reason for the pilgrimage to the annual event was to honor Mark Miller, a full-time lieutenant in the Laconia Fire Department.

Last March, 43-year-old Miller drowned while leading a dive training exercise.

"We wanted to honor our brother from New Hampshire," said David.

Firefighters honored at the 24th annual service were as young as 18-year-old Michael Stokes, of the Ebenezer Fire Department in South Carolina, and as old as 73-year-old Theodore A. Myhre Sr., of the Bishop Hill Fire Department in Illinois.

A candlelight vigil - featuring hundreds of friends and family of those fallen - took place on the evening of Oct. 8. Speakers at the event included Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison and keynote speaker and Department of Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff.

On Sunday, during the memorial service, David, Silva, Hill and Lincoln each helped form a "sea of blue," through which mourners walked to honor their loved ones.

"It was heart-wrenching to see," said David.

David and Silva repeatedly used the term brotherhood when describing the weekend's atmosphere.

"You could just walk up to somebody and talk to them like you've known them forever," said Silva. "This is kind of a calling. There's no other job like it."