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	Photo by Skip Lawrence The family of Baltimore County firefighter Jarrett Dixon receive a United States flag during the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg Sunday. The names of 103 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2008 were honored.

With a backdrop of four hook-and-ladder trucks holding up two giant American flags, the ceremony at the National Emergency Training Center was full of symbolism. An honor guard, complete with bagpipes and drums, played a medley of "America, the Beautiful" and "God Bless America." A bell was rung in three sets of five rings -- Morse code for a fallen firefighter. And the event was staffed by firefighters from stations all around the country.

"As long as there is an America and an American fire service, there will be a debt that we must strive to pay due to their selfless commitment to saving lives and property," U.S. Fire Administrator Kelvin Cochran said.

Among those honored were Jarrett A. Dixon and Brian Dennis Neville of the Baltimore County Fire Department. Dixon, 36, died Jan. 12 from a heart attack, after experiencing chest pains during training a few days before. Neville, 32, was found dead on the morning of Oct. 16 by his colleagues.

"They died because there was something in each of their lives that they valued more than life: their duty, their calling to protect the safety of their families and their fellow citizens," said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-5th "They are ready to shout down tens of thousands of years of human instinct to run into danger, into the fire, into the flood, into the catastrophe."

Hoyer and others unveiled a new plaque for the monument, a stone ring with a stone and bronze pillar in the middle. The names of 19 firefighters who died in past years but had not yet been honored were included with those who died in 2008.

The names of all 122 firefighters were read aloud. For each one, family members stepped forward to receive a folded American flag and a red rose. After musical performances and spoken tributes, a flock of white doves was released.

"It was beautiful. It was amazing. It was everything we could have hoped for," Jake Charlson said. His brother, Scott Charlson, died in an Aug. 5 helicopter crash in northern California. Charlson and his parents, Rick and Nina, came from Oregon to accept the flag in Scott's honor.

Eight other people died in that crash, including Matt Hammer. His wife, Monica Hammer, also came in from Oregon.

"The ceremony was really good," she said. "It's always emotional, but it's so great to honor them."

When a firefighter is added to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's list of memorialized heroes, his or her children become eligible for scholarship money and other benefits.

Many of the fallen firefighters died on the job, but some suffered life-threatening injuries that took their lives several years later, said Tom Olshanski, spokesman for the United States Fire Administration.

John Clasby, a 46-year-old former firefighter from Massachusetts, was among those honored Sunday. He was paralyzed in 1999 when doctors say a bullet severed his spinal cord; he died from his injuries last November.