Posted at: 09/23/2009 1:10 PM
Updated at: 09/23/2009 6:00 PM
By: NICK REISMAN
The Post-Star

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Residents pay respect to fallen soldier

Members of the 548th Combat Support Sustainment Brigade from Fort Drum carry the casket of Army Pfc. Jeremiah Monroe past family and friends to the Barton-McDermott Funeral Home in Chester on Wednesday. Photo: Derek Pruitt / The Post-Star

CHESTER -- Dozens of people lined Main Street in Chestertown on Wednesday to pay their last respects to the Brant Lake soldier who died in Afghanistan.

"It’s their way of connecting with the family," said Terry Waterston, commander of the American Legion Post No. 629 in Minerva. "The support from the people for their troops is phenomenal."

The body of Army Pfc. Jeremiah Monroe, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Sept. 17, left Warren County airport at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

A small, white military jet from Dover Air Force Base landed at the airport at about 10 a.m. with the casket.

A processional of State Police, Warren County Sheriff’s Office and family members’ vehicles drove north on Route 9 toward Chester. The flag-drapped casket was taken to Barton-McDermott Funeral Home.

The motorcade passed through Chester shortly before noon. A banner was hung over Main Street: "Thank You Jeremiah. We’ll Never Forget You."

Onlookers who gathered outside the Grand Union grocery store where Monroe’s mother Dolores works were silent as the procession passed.

Some held small American flags they fluttered silently in the breeze. Others hugged each other and wept.

"It’s a small town, people come together," said Eugene Dutcher, who waited for the procession to pass outside the Chester Town Hall.

Kathleen Roberts said she felt it was important to pay her respects.

"It’s because we’re Americans," she said.

Many weren’t surprised that the nearly impromptu outpouring of public grief was held in the middle of town.

"The only thing we have left in this world is loyalty," said Minerva resident John Callihan.

Calling hours for Monroe will be 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday at Barton-McDermott Funeral Home at 9 Pine St. in Chestertown. A funeral service with full military honors will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday at St. John the Baptist, a Catholic church in Chestertown, followed by burial at Underwood Cemetery in Adirondack.

This story originally appeared on PostStar.com.