Yeah I know, I have. Numerous times in fact. Well, despite my hatred of them, I and a few members of the department are going to drive to Prescott AZ on Tuesday for the memorial service memorializing the 19 Granite Mountain Hot Shot Firefighters who lost their lives last week.
As we all have time constraints, we are going to do a turn-around trip. We'll leave here around 0400 and hopefully return by 2100 or so. It's going to be a long day, but I feel a need to show support to the wild-land firefighting community and to let them know that we pavement protectors feel a sincere sense of loss, that we know what they do is important and that we realize how dangerous and difficult their mission is.
It's not going to be a pleasant experience, but my sorrow and discomfort is trivial when compared to what the families and friends of the fallen are going through. I wish there was some magic words that I could type to make things easier for those who are left behind, but it just doesn't seem to work that way.
If a family member of the fallen should ever stumble across this, I just hope they realize that the words expressed here are sincere, and though we can never understand exactly what they are going through, all of us in the fire service feel a sense of loss in their loved ones passing.
I'll let you know how it went when I get back.
Thanks for reading,
Schmoe
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Captain Schmoe, This means a lot to me, just an Arizona citizen. I can't imagine how much it will mean to our firefighters and bereaved. Thank you. - Wayne Conrad
ReplyDeleteWayne - It was an honor to attend the service in Prescott yesterday. It was great to see the outpouring of support, not only from the fire service, but from the citizens of Arizona. It is evident that the people were deeply touched by the sacrifices of the fallen.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.