Roanoke County communication officer B.R. Troutt spoke those words at 8:10 p.m. Saturday, calling for a moment of silence in honor of Emergency Medical Service personnel who have died in the line of duty.

After her announcement, emergency scanner traffic fell silent for a few seconds to honor the dead.

The moment of silence was coordinated with the directors of Saturday evening's Eighth Annual National EMS Memorial Service at Greene Memorial United Methodist Church in Roanoke. More than 650 people from seven states came to honor 27 EMS crew members who lost their lives on the job. Those 27 names were added to the National EMS Memorial Tree of Life in the To The Rescue Museum at Tanglewood Mall.

The memorial takes place in Roanoke because the nation's first rescue squad was started here by Julian Wise, who attended Greene Memorial .

Janet Coyle, 42, a flight nurse from Lexington, Ky., came with several members of the University of Kentucky AirMed Service.

Four members of her crew were killed June 14 in a helicopter crash. Flying through dense fog, the helicopter crashed into a hillside for reasons that are still unknown, Coyle said.

All four were Coyle's friends and co-workers for years. "We knew each other well. It's just like your family."

Donna Isfort, 36, was also with the University of Kentucky AirMed Service. "We've all grown up together. We all got married about the same time. It's affected us all."

She said coping with the loss was hard, because "they all left small children behind."

Coyle said "it's a wonderful thing" that her friend's names were added to the Tree of Life. "They were all very good at what they did."

"It helps you give a little closure to it all," Isfort said.

Many of the paramedics who attended were escorting family members of fallen co-workers.

Shirley Bagby, vice chairwoman of the National EMS Memorial Service, told a story about last year's memorial. A South Dakota man received the U.S. flag, white rose and medallion that are given to honorees, in honor of his wife, who had died in a helicopter crash.

"When he walked down the steps after receiving the recognition, the tears were flowing from his face all the way to the floor. It was so hard."

Some came not in honor of a person, but for the significance of the ceremony.

"I'm here because I want to be here," said Kenneth Davis, 38, a paramedic with the New York City Fire Department. "We all have a common bond."