FRANKLIN — In addition to family members, friends and other loved ones, hundreds of people, including Gov. John Lynch, police officers, firefighters and members of the New Hampshire National Guard and other military branches all gathered to pay final respects to Cpl. Scott G. Dimond, 39, the local National Guardsman and retired Franklin police officer who died Oct. 13 while serving in Afghanistan.

The funeral took place in the gymnasium of Franklin Middle School and two tented areas were set up outside, where people, once the gym was full, could go to watch the service on flat-screen televisions.

Following the service, a procession on foot of guardsmen and guardswomen and police officers, followed by cars carrying close relatives of Dimond, escorted the hearse carrying Dimond's casket to the Franklin Cemetery, where his body was buried with full military honors.

He died from injuries sustained when the military convoy he was traveling in came under heavy fire and an improvised explosive devise denoted near him. The attack occurred near Lashkar Gah in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

Dimond was a soldier with C Company, 3rd of the 172nd Mountain Infantry Regiment, and was deployed to Afghanistan in January as part of an embedded tactical training team providing training to members of the Afghan National Army and the country's police force. Before deploying to Afghanistan, he also served as a member of the Guard Honors Team.

Dimond served on the Franklin Police Department for 18 years, from 1988-2006, and attained the rank of sergeant before retiring. He then joined the state Army National Guard full time.

He leaves behind his wife, Jennifer, son Luke, and daughters Ashlee, Alexis and Madison Dimond, all of Franklin.

Leland C. Dimond, of Belmont, spoke of the pride he felt for his son, pride that he said he should have expressed more often.

Leland Dimond said he and his son had come to believe in the same principles over the years, the principles of "God, family and country."

He said Scott Dimond's belief in those principles were evident in the way he lived.

"Scott loved God, he loved his family, and he was a true American," Leland Dimond said.

He said he has been proud of his son since the day he was born and is even more proud of him today.

"I'm so proud of you for giving your life for our country — there is no greater sacrifice," he said.

Scott Dimond's sisters, Angela Amaral of Sarasota, Fla., and Leanna Thackery of Berlin, came to the podium together, both in tears.

Amaral said she was thankful for every day that her brother was part of her life.

"I will cherish every hug, every kiss, every laugh and every tear I shared with my brother," Amaral said.

She added that joining the military was something her brother always wanted to do.

"I'm truly proud of him, for he was a soldier and a hero," Amaral said.

Thackery spoke with a quavering voice broken by tears, but expressed her conviction that her brother is now in heaven.

"We don't do this just in sorrow but in celebration of your wonderful life," Thackery said.

Scott Dimond's uncle, Jean Dimond, spoke of a nephew that was more like a son in many ways and one who, even as a little boy, seemed to possess wisdom beyond his years.

Yet Dimond's uncle also recalled a boy who was fearless and up for any challenge, such as being the only child in the neighborhood brave enough to ride a friend's red wagon down a hill.

"He had such a wonderful outlook on life," Jean Dimond said.

He said later, when Scott Dimond was in school and on the football team, he excelled at sports and liked being part of the team. When the teen injured his knee, Jean Dimond said, the boy was heartbroken that he couldn't be part of the team for a while.

After high school, he said, Scott Dimond signed up with the Marines with similar enthusiasm and was equally upset when the knee injury prevented him from completing training. Not one to be down for too long; however, Scott Dimond decided to become a member of the Franklin Police Department.

"That was the little boy who grew up always wanting to serve others, always wanting to help," Jean Dimond said.

State Army National Guard Sgt. William Whitcher, Scott Dimond's cousin and a member of his Guard unit, paused to hold back tears as he spoke of a promise he and his cousin had made to come home together.

He said the last time he saw his cousin alive, they had met in Afghanistan and had talked for hours, sharing stories, confidences and tears. They even traded one of their dog tags with each other and made the promise to go home together.

"Scott completed exactly what he set out to do," Whitcher said. "to make it safer for everyone here."

Whitcher said even as children, both he and Scott Dimond aspired to military careers and took playing army to a whole new level by digging trenches and fox holes in the backyard.

Later, Whitcher said they joined the Marines together.

Whitcher said when he came home from the Marines and was at loose ends as to what to do with his life, it was Scott Dimond who encouraged him to become a policeman, too. Whitcher started on the Northfield Police Department and is now a member of the State Police.

"He was always there for me," Whitcher said.

Whitcher said when he decided to join the New Hampshire National Guard, Scott Dimond encouraged him.

"When I told him I was going to Afghanistan, he said 'You don't think you're going without me? Someone's got to get you home safe,'" Whitcher said.

Ray Mongeau/Citizen photo Military members, civilians, public officials and family members gather around the hearse carrying the body of Cpl. Scott Dimond during his funeral Saturday at the Franklin Cemetery.

Ray Mongeau/Citizen photo Military veterans riding motorcycles hold flags and salute as Cpl. Scott Dimond's funeral procession passes by on the way to the Franklin cemetery Saturday afternoon.

Ray Mongeau/Citizen photo Military veterans riding motorcycles hold flags and salute as Cpl. Scott Dimond's funeral procession passes by on the way to the Franklin cemetery Saturday afternoon.

Ray Mongeau/Citizen photo Cpl. Scott Dimond's funeral procession travels through downtown Franklin.

Ray Mongeau/Citizen photo Members of the military salute as the hearse carrying Cpl. Scott Dimond's body arrives at the Franklin Cemetery.