DAVENPORT -- The long, silent line began to form in the Davenport North High School gym about a half-hour before visitation was supposed to begin Monday afternoon.

It was a sign of things to come.

Family members of Cpl. Jason Pautsch have many, many friends and acquaintances in the Quad-Cities, Weerts Funeral Home owner David Deuth said. They also knew the 20-year-old Davenport man"s sacrifice would bring many strangers to the school gym.

Pautsch was one of five American soldiers who died April 10 as the result of a suicide bombing in Mosul, Iraq. He graduated from North High School in 2006 to get a jump on his military career. He is regarded, however, as a member of the Class of 2007.

One of the countless classmates attending his visitation held her hand over her mouth as she slowly passed tables

filled with photos and mementos.

"My daughter"s having a bad time," Kim Hansen said of the young woman. "Jason was an amazing person. He took my daughter all over town looking for me when she locked herself out of the house. He drove her to DeWitt, back to Davenport, all over.

"He wouldn"t leave her until she found me. I"ve loved him since then.

"I never heard a foul word out of his mouth or saw any dumb behavior or a bit of rudeness," Hansen added. "He was sweet and well-mannered, and this is a big loss."

The framed family photos and specially made picture collages showed a young man surrounded by love. The playful pictures of him with his sister and three brothers portrayed an obvious bond. At the end of one photo table was an especially poignant portrayal of the family"s loss -- the upper half of one of Pautsch"s Class A uniforms, mounted and adorned with medals.

"I had to ask the Army for permission to put that on display," Deuth said. "It"s all about honoring the soldier."

Deuth estimated that more than 2,000 people came through between 1 and 8 p.m.

"It shows that people care about our soldiers and are grateful to the men and women over there," Jonathon Roepcke, a

16-year-old Marine Corps ROTC member, said. "I"ll be going into the military (after high school) and I"d hope people would do it for me."

Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba, attending his first military funeral as mayor, reached into his suit coat pocket and produced a copy of a proclamation, which is to be approved later this week by the City Council. It reads, in part, "Whereas a grateful nation and a respectful city extend our deepest sympathies to Jason"s family as they struggle to bear the sorrow over our great loss ... we honor his courage and strength of character."

The mayor said the city intends to proclaim Wednesday, April 22, 2009, Jason G. Pautsch Day.

Gluba shook his head, saying, "I"ve got four sons of my own. I hope we never have to do this again. It"s a sad, sad day for Davenport."

It also promised to be a long day for members of the Pautsch family, some of whom said they doubted they could endure all six scheduled hours of the visitation, Deuth said. To accommodate their certain exhaustion, funeral home workers kept bottled water nearby and prepared a resting spot in a private area off the gym.

Others were prepared to stay for the duration, including shivering members of the Patriot Guard Riders, who maintained a flag-holding vigil in front of and just inside the gym along with high school ROTC members.

At 7:30 p.m., the high school parking lot still was overflowing with vehicles and a line of people wishing to pay their respects snaked around the gym.

"I"m glad those folks are here," said Kevyn Strom of Clinton, Iowa. "I don"t know how many of us knew this young man, but we"re all grateful to him. He deserves to be honored like this."