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All photos by Jerilee Bennett / The Gazette via AP
Representatives of 87 fire departments from the U.S. and Canada hold flags to be presented to family members of firefighters who have died this past year. They were attending the annual IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Observance at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Sept. 17, 2011.
The mission of the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial, which is located near Pike’s Peak in Colorado, is to honor the sacrifice made by firefighters and emergency medical personal who have given their lives in the line of duty. Read more…
Phyllis Cash hands a tissue to her husband, O.P. Cash, after they received an encased flag in honor of their son, Paul Cash. Paul was serving with the fire department in Great Basin, Nev. when he died.
Jennifer Santora, helps her son, Antonio Echeverria, trace the name of her brother amongst the other NYFD firefighters names killed on 9/11 at the World Trade Center. Antonio never got to know his uncle, Christopher Alexander Santora, because his uncle was killed before he was born.
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Someone has to eventually get realistic about memorials of all kinds. Firemen seem to have the biggest of all, more than police, military, or political figures. Why not lumberjacks? That is even more dangerous. And who pays for all of this? A nice, dignified, personally aimed ceremony should be sufficient. Some of these get so out of scale that it is counterproductive. I guess it's hard to put a lid on it, but someone has to.
I'd like to thank the brave men and women whose names are on the wall at that memorial because unlike lumberjacks, they gave their lives protecting and serving their community. I guess I don't see the counterproductivity in them taking a couple of hours to honor them. Thank you to all the firefighters who make it your job to protect your sometimes ungrateful community.