BALTIMORE COUNTY — Captain Jake Stuart leads dozens of people each year down a long winding driveway to the Fallen Heroes Memorial at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, a role rooted in personal loss.
Stuart's connection to the honor guard began in childhood. His father, also a firefighter, died when Stuart was 8 years old.
"When I was a kid my father was also in the fire department. He passed away when I was 8 years old," said Stuart
Leading the pack: How loss inspired a Baltimore County firefighter to join the honor guard
"One of the distinct memories I have at all of my father's services when I was a kid was the honor guard being there and present," said Stuart.
Stuart joined the Baltimore County Fire Department at 19. Shortly after, he lost a mentor, Mark Falkenhan, in the line of duty.
"Gentleman by the name of Mark Falkenhan passed away in the line of duty in this area. Mark was very close with my father. I knew Mark my entire life, and again, one of the distinct memories I have about that service was the presence of the honor guard," said Stuart.
Stuart joined the honor guard, which represents the department at moments of both grief and celebration from funerals to retirements, graduations, and parades. The role demands precision and dedication.
"It's absolutely a performance like you said and it's a lot of coordination, timing, drilling, so my team personally we practice, monthly, but just how to step, how to move, how to look, how to stand, how to act, and then we get a lot of on the job training as well so when we come to large events like Fallen Heroes Day," said Stuart.
Stuart worked his way up from the back of the group to leading the pack.
"When I see the photos of the, the hundreds of honor guard people, all the flags, all the agencies represented, we have the motorcycle units, the mounted units on the horses, and the pipes and drums teams following us down that hill, it's just, uh, it's a lot to take in," said Stuart.
The honor guard shows up for all Baltimore County firefighters, not just those who died in the line of duty, but also retirees who left the department decades ago.
"I get all the time we'll do retiree funerals for guys that have been retired 20 or 30 years who haven't had any, they don't even know anyone in the fire department anymore, but we show up and we represent the department just to honor them and their service and the families really love that, it means a lot," said Stuart.
This Fallen Heroes Day, Stuart will take his place at the front of the pack and lead his group in honoring those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
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