“Honor Before All” is a motto all firefighters embrace; it inspires and directs us. Honor is a fascinating concept, and one that the fire service has long respected, upheld, and embraced. Honor in civilian circles is sometimes held more cheaply-probably most cheaply in political circles, but that’s certainly not breaking news. But for firefighters, honor is part of our sacred code, something to be defended, something to be upheld. By far, the most precious thing one comes into and leaves the fire service with is one’s honor. It is said that the most significant thing that can be said about a firefighter at his retirement or death is that he lived within the best traditions of the fire service, that he was a good firefighter, that he lived with honor. It’s also said, and wisely so, that most wounds to our honor are self-inflicted.
There is a fascinating history about honor; one of the most interesting is the samurai code “Bushido,” a code that places honor above all else. Bushido has many principles that the fire service also holds dear. A few of them are as follows: (1) On-obligation, debt of gratitude. You should always pay back a debt to your country, organization, or people in your life who have supported you. (2) Giri-a sense of duty. (3) Gaman-internal fortitude, personal discipline, and accountability. (4) Haji-shame. Do not bring shame to your family name or, in our case, the fire service. (5) Shinbo-endurance, perseverance, persistence.
All firefighters can relate to these principles. We all believe that service is the highest calling and that we have an obligation-a moral obligation-to serve. All firefighters are driven by a sense of duty to their fellow man and one another. All firefighters hold their honor dearly and protect it fiercely. All firefighters pride themselves on their personal discipline, their attention to detail, and their unfaltering sense of responsibility for their actions and their interactions. All firefighters endeavor always to protect the good name of the fire service and find it incredibly disturbing when any member of our calling besmirches the name of the fire service through conduct or behavior. And persistence/endurance is always on display in our relentless drill, education, and training, our obsession with perfection despite its unattainable nature.
There is a fine line, however, between honor and ego. Our European ancestry bequeathed an interesting code of honor, which in many ways continues today. Centuries ago, according to researchers, during only 18 years of Henry IV’s reign, 4,000 noblemen were killed, and 8,000 pardons for “murder associated with duels” were issued during Louis XIII’s reign. The first code of dueling dates back to the Renaissance, and a code of practice was drawn up for the regulation of duels in Ireland. Gentlemen were expected to keep a copy of the code in their pistol case.
Most of us are familiar with the events of the morning of July 11, 1804, when, on a beautiful spot along the Palisades in New Jersey, called the Heights of Weehawken, two rowboats pulled up quietly, and our sitting Vice President Aaron Burr, who later was discovered to be anything but honorable, and former Secretary of the Treasury and immigrant patriot Alexander Hamilton met to duel. Hamilton fired first over the head of Burr, but Burr did not return the favor; he shot and killed Hamilton. It was Hamilton’s 12th duel; interestingly, his son had died dueling four years earlier.
Dueling to defend one’s honor was common. Reportedly, between 1798 and the Civil War, the U.S. Navy lost two-thirds as many officers to dueling as to combat. Historians aren’t sure, but they know of at least five, and possibly as many as 100, duels in which President Andrew Jackson was a participant. Dueling to the death eventually fell from favor with the growth of lawsuits and newspapers where combatants could rage against and attempt to defend their honor in print.
Today, we see dueling online in social media; increasingly, we see firefighters being drawn into the fray. The question is, Why would someone duel back then as well as today and when are we honor-bound to respond?
No one likes being insulted or, worse, falsely accused of either motive or deed. All of us hold certain beliefs, thoughts, and opinions, some based on empirical evidence, some on experience, and some on faith. It is a matter of honor if one is falsely accused of wrongdoing or malintent. It is a matter of honor if one’s character is soiled by falsehood, one is justified to correct these assaults. It is a matter of ego if your sense of self is threatened because someone disagrees with your interpretation of the application of doctrine.
Some of our beliefs involve firefighting doctrine, theory by which resources and the fireground are bound for the accomplishment of some purpose. To be doctrine, however, not any theory will do. It must be widely accepted by practitioners and advanced by a respected authority. Within our doctrines are tactics such as providing an estimate or size-up of the situation.
We operate in a large fire service, and we are forever testing, evaluating, and meshing new concepts with old. Without this constant evolution, we would soon become outdated and incompetent. We must remain ever vigilant of “traditionalists’” fearfully murderboarding new ideas into extinction as well as “progressives” who cannot resist adopting, without question, every new fad. Loyalty to either of these practices does not require dueling between firefighters; rather, civility, discussion, and respect are required to promote evolution. By doing this, we honor our calling. We should always place our honor above all else. “Honor Ante Omnia”
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