Technical Sergeant Joseph G. Lemm dedicated his life to protecting others. For 15 years, he was a member of the New York City Police Department, and when the tragedy of 9/11 occurred, he spent days and weeks afterward searching for survivors beneath the massive steel and concrete remnants at ground zero. A few years later he joined the Air National Guard, to not only serve his country “better provide for his family”. He was a proud husband and father in West Harrison, New York, with two children.

Technical Sgt. Lemm was killed last week in Afghanistan, along with five other airmen, when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated a blast adjacent to their convoy. It was his third tour of the Middle East.

He was 45 years old.

On Monday, his remains returned home to Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, where more than 100 veterans (below) were standing by to salute the brave Nebraska native who is honored by his hometown of Beemer with a message in front of their town hall.

It reads “Our Hometown Hero”.