Firefighters lined up in dress uniforms outside firehouses. Workers at car dealerships and pharmacies left their air-conditioned posts and crammed the sidewalks. Retirement home residents rolled their wheelchairs to the curb. Veterans in scraps of old uniforms saluted.
Postal workers and police officers halted during their shifts and stood at attention. Swimming pools emptied as mothers in bathing suits stood with dripping children, hands over their hearts. Sunburned construction workers tied a flag to a backhoe and stood, drenched in sweat, their hard hats over their hearts.
High school football players, retirees and homeowners unfurled the red-and-yellow Marine Corps colors and hundreds of American flags. They held handmade posters that read "Thank you, Brian" and "God Bless Brian" and "A True American Hero -- Brian Montgomery."
At the church service, Brian's father, Paul, broke down as he tried to describe how his son had always put others before himself. He told how Brian had been suspended in high school for fighting after he defended a girl who had been slapped by a boy. He described how the shock of the Sept. 11 attacks prompted his oldest son to join the Marine Corps Reserves.
"Brian had a deep conviction that he needed to protect his country," his father said.
Some families of reservists killed in action have criticized the Bush administration's handling of the war. But Paul Montgomery said he did not, nor had Brian. "We both believe it's the right war at the right time," he said.
When he telephoned Brian in Iraq, his son always assured him that he was on "light duty," far from combat.
"Don't worry, Dad, I'm coming home," Brian would say.
Actually, Brian -- a mortar man by training -- had volunteered for dangerous sniper duty near Haditha, an insurgent stronghold in violent Anbar province.
His father knew the truth.
"I'd say: 'Keep lying to me, Brian. We can talk about it when you get home,' " he said.
As he spoke, the father was overcome. He sobbed. Finally, he managed to choke out, "I know Brian's in heaven because he died in hell."
Brian's widow, Pam, did not weep as she spoke.
In a clear, strong voice, she described how she knew she would marry Brian the day she met him. "You never believe in love at first sight until it happens to you," she told the mourners.
She spoke of Brian's habit of showing off his Marine tattoos in bars.
