To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

JACKSONVILLE – Family and friends said a final farewell Sunday to National Guard Sgt. Roger Leeroy Adams.

Hundreds poured into Jacksonville High School for the funeral service, followed by a long procession to the state Veterans Cemetery. It would have been Adams' 37th birthday.

He was one of four National Guardsmen killed in Iraq on June 29 after the Humvee they were riding in was hit with a roadside bomb. It was one day before U.S. troops began pulling out of Iraqi cities and towns.

"It really hits home and it reminds us that freedom is not free and the sacrifices these guys are making for this country," Paul LeVesque said.

Adams was a firefighter with the Half Moon Fire Department. The procession reflected that as a firetruck carried his casket to the cemetery.

"Every member of this fire department is proud of him," Chief Greg Jeppson, of the Half Moon Fire Department, said. "He is a leader that everyone needs to base their life off of."

The long procession also included police cars and Patriot Guard motorcycles.

Adams was also in the Marine Corps for 13 years before leaving and joining the National Guard.

"Because of his duty and his will to volunteer, he went and served his country again," Jeppson said. "How can you ask any more of somebody like that?"

His friends described Adams as a true serviceman.

"He was quiet. You never could get him to say anything negative. He was very positive. He was a true leader," Jeppson said. "It's amazing and I wish more people would live their life like he lived his."