A cold drizzle fell upon the hundreds of people who gathered to say goodbye to Cpl. Michael Ouellette yesterday.

They stood among gravestones at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, circling the wooden casket that held Ouellette, the 28-year-old Manchester Marine killed last week in Afghanistan.

They listened as Alan Ouellette spoke of how his older brother had lived - by reaching out to people - and proposed that friends and family do the same in his memory.

They watched as two Marines held an American flag over the casket and began to fold it into crisp triangles, their hands in white gloves, their movements deliberate.

Marines came from far away yesterday to honor Ouellette, who was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. He was killed March 22 while

supporting combat operations in Helmand province of southwestern Afghanistan. Another Marine, Cpl. Anthony Williams, 21, of Pennsylvania, was killed the same day. The military hasn't disclosed additional details.

Ouellette, who was buried with full military honors, earned seven commendations since joining the Marines in 2005. Afghanistan was his third deployment; he previously served two tours in Iraq. It was during the first tour that Lance Cpl. Christopher Escher came to know him.

"He was always a leader, even as a junior guy," Escher said yesterday, recalling the days they spent together on patrol in Anbar province. ("Every day," he said, smiling and shaking his head slightly.) Ouellette became a team leader and then a squad leader, he said.

"He didn't even have to go on this deployment," said Escher, who came from Camp Lejeune, N.C., for the service. But "the guys under him didn't have combat experience." Ouellette, he said, wanted to make sure they were taken care of.

Ouellette is the 28th person from New Hampshire killed since 2003 while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Flags flew at half-staff across the state yesterday. Sen. Judd Gregg mentioned Ouellette on the floor of the U.S. Senate, saying that he'd spoken to Ouellette's mother, "and of course he was an exceptional individual." And Gov. John Lynch came to yesterday's ceremony, standing among the mourners after taps was played.

But the crowd yesterday numbered many more than officials and Marines and members of the military. Tai Ahmad, one of Ouellette's closest friends from high school, said many of their Manchester Memorial High School classmates had come to Ouellette's wake and services to pay their respects.

"He had no problems with anybody, not one person I can recall," Ahmad said in a conversation last week. "He was truly, truly, truly just genuine."

Young men lingered in small circles long after yesterday's service had ended, giving out hugs as they patted each other on the back.

They waited in line to walk past Ouellette's casket, under the tarpaulin where his family stood. Alan Ouellette, the younger brother, greeted each person with a handshake and a hug.

"Thank you so much for coming," he told one woman as he hugged her tightly. "I'm proud of my family. They're doing much better than I am."