Emergency services personnel from across
the county gathered Oct. 12 with family, friends and community members to honor
fallen firefighters and EMS workers who sacrificed their lives serving the
residents of Cumberland County and Fort Bragg.
The 20th annual Cumberland County
Emergency Services Memorial Service was held at the red brick Emergency
Services Memorial on the campus of Fayetteville Technical Community College.
The memorial ceremony is held on the second Saturday in October annually by the
Cumberland County Fire Chiefs’ Association, Cumberland County Emergency
Services and the Fayetteville Fire Department.
“There are no words to match their
sacrifice; therefore, it is important for all of us to gather together to
remember our hometown heroes. Let us remember not that they died, but why they
died: protecting our citizens of Cumberland County, Fort Bragg and the City of
Fayetteville,” said Pearce’s Mill Fire Department Chief Ronnie Marley, vice president
of the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs’ Association.
Kenny Tatum, the Fire Chiefs’ Association
chaplain and Assistant Fire Chief for the Vander Fire Department, cited the
Bible verse Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“That’s why we do what we do. We truly
love our neighbors. It’s a great passage for all emergency services personnel.
Every day you get on that unit and respond; you are laying your life on the
line for somebody,” Tatum said.
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy
West, the guest speaker, commented on the unique aspects faced by emergency
services personnel in the field.
“Firefighters and EMS workers, at a moment’s notice, may need to make a
split-second decision, which in many cases could mean life or death for the person
they are trying to save, or it could mean life of death for them,” West said.
“That makes it a very unique field and a very important field.”
Two wreaths were laid at the memorial this
year. One wreath was in honor of the 11 men listed on the memorial who died in
the line of duty since 1929: Joseph E. Boles, Paul I.
Boyer III, William I. Capps, Frank R. Echevarria, Luther P. Horne, Ferrell D.
Hood, Jesse M. Jones, Steve E. Russell Jr., David C. Sharp II, Jesse U.
Shockley Jr. and John C. Tyner.
The other wreath honored active duty fire and EMS personnel who
died while not in the line of duty during the last year: Bryant
Drake Anderson (Fort Bragg Fire Dept.); Misty Lee Hummel (Fort Bragg EMS); Phil
Taranto (Westarea Fire Dept.) and Dirk Michael Vanderah (Fort Bragg EMS).
Anyone who wishes to purchase
a brick or have a brick placed on the memorial walkway can go to www.ccfcanc.com/memorial to place an order or contact Fayetteville Fire Battalion
Chief David Richtmeyer at drichtmeyer@ci.fay.nc.us
or at 910-433-1342.
For more information about the
memorial and the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs’ Association, go to www.ccfcanc.com/memorial.