Honoring the Fighters

This article on the brave firefighters who died in the line of duty on Monday, is from FoxNews:

Nine caskets lined the front of a coliseum Friday as thousands of firefighters from across the nation, their hats
in their hands, honored nine colleagues killed in a furniture store blaze...The
fire Monday night created the single largest loss of firefighters' lives since
the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Beside the caskets, the faces of its victims looked
out proudly from large photos: Capt. William "Billy" Hutchinson, 48; Capt. Mike
Benke, 49; Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34; Mark Kelsey, 40; Bradford "Brad" Baity, 37;
Michael French, 27; James "Earl" Drayton, 56; Brandon Thompson, 27; and Melvin
Champaign, 46.

Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. told the crowd that
the men were heroes.
"It was their calling, it was their training, it was
their duty and, unflinchingly, without hesitation, with extreme courage, they
did it," he said. "They are public servants of the highest order. They want to
serve. They want to help. They want to save. And they want to protect."

A well deserved homage to these selfless public servants. Also, Lowcountry Blogs has exhaustive coverage of the funeral, including links and photos.