Thousands of Santa Clarita residents lined city streets Saturday afternoon to honor Sgt. Ian T.D. Gelig, Army paratrooper and Stevenson Ranch resident who was killed in Afghanistan last week.

Several community members helped to organize a funeral procession along Copper Hill Drive, McBean Parkway, Stevenson Ranch Parkway and Pico Canyon Drive. Hundreds of residents carried American flags and signs honoring the fallen soldier.

"If I had to put a number on it, there were probably between five and 6,000 people lined up," said Fred Arnold who drove behind Gelig's hearse, and helped to organize the funeral procession. "There were a couple thousand people in Stevenson Ranch alone."

Gelig, 25, was killed on March 1 when a roadside bomb exploded near the vehicle he was riding in while on patrol in southern Afghanistan.
He graduated from Hart High School in 2002 and is survived by his parents, Tim and Delia Gelig, and his sisters, Vanessa and Liana.

As the hearse carrying Gelig's coffin drove down the street, hundreds of residents either saluted, or yelled "thank you" and "God bless."

A private memorial service was held for family and friends of Gelig at noon at Blessed Kateri Catholic Church. During the service in the church parking lot, hundreds of people were busy getting ready to form a motorcade to lead the hearse from the church to the burial site at San Fernando Mission Hills Cemetery.

The motorcade stretched several hundred feet and included dozens of cars, two fire engines, seven police cars and 20 motorcyclists from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said volunteer sheriff Ben Ripa.

The motorcade also included about 70 members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a veteran's support group, Patriot guard members drove motorcycles with American flags hanging out the back and before the procession began, members lined the walkway from the church to the hearse and saluted Gelig's casket, which was draped with an American flag.

Dozens of Gelig's family and friends crowded around the hearse as his coffin was being loaded in the back at about 1:30 p.m.

Several family members were wearing pins with Gelig's face. One van in the parking lot had a sticker on its back window that said, "In loving memory of our hero Ian Gelig."

"This is the sixth (funeral) I've been to this week." said Patriot Guard member Paul Anderson as he smoked a large cigar. "It's been the busiest week I've ever seen."

"It's never good to be this busy," said guard member Ricky Killen of Canyon Country.

Patriot Guard Jeff Dombro of Stevenson Ranch, handed out fliers on McBean Parkway and put up banners before the funeral to get as many people as possible to honor Ian during the procession.

Dombro, along with about 20 other Patriot Guard members, escorted Gelig's casket from Burbank Airport to the cemetery in Mission Hills on Tuesday.

Some members of the Patriot Guard drove hundreds of miles to pay their respects.

"It took me almost two hours to get here," said Marshall Morrison, 20, who lives in a small town near Temecula. Morrison, who is not a veteran, joined the Patriot Guard four months ago and has since traveled hundreds of miles around California and been to dozens of military funerals.

"Its important to show the family that we respect and honor their son," Morrison said. "We need to show people that we care for the people who serve our country."