Editor’s Opinion ❘ By BOBBY HALTON
Washington, D.C., is filled with statues, buildings, and monuments. It is a city that inspires you. At the same time, it compels you to reflect. The vast majority of statues and monuments depict dramatic struggles involving the forces of good and evil and the fight for liberty and freedom. These monuments were inspired by the work of great people or groups of individuals with a common set of values and a common purpose. This nation has always stood for that which is good; it is what makes America great. The fire service has been always dedicated to what is good and what is often called the “better angels of our nature.”
Having monuments and statues to help us remember is important, because these monuments also represent the values and principles that sustained the people in those heroic struggles to continue against insurmountable odds and to sacrifice everything for that which they knew to be the truth. It is tragic that we are unaware that these struggles continue even today and that all around us are heroes, men and women who are willing to struggle against evil, whether that evil be from the barrel of a gun or the toxic gases and tremendous devastating power of fire.
When we listen to what is being discussed today, it is hard to find the wonderfully inspiring stories of today’s real heroes. One such story involves a 93-year-old gentleman who was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and who recently passed away quietly in an assisted-living center.
On June 6, 1944, while he was serving in the 101st Army Airborne, his company parachuted behind enemy lines. He and the 101st fought through the Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of Dachau, and on to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. He promised himself that if he survived, he would return home and lead a quiet life.
On his return, he married, bought a small farm in Fredericksburg, raised two children, and worked in the agricultural feed business. He didn’t talk about the war until a writer named Ambrose made him famous in the book A Band of Brothers. He was by all accounts the biggest brother.
Col. Dick Winters never claimed to be a hero. When people asked him if he was a hero, he would answer, “No, I am not a hero, but I served in a company of heroes.”
Sadly, when this true American hero passed, we heard little of him in our public discourse. Looking at what is being discussed, celebrated, and recognized, we find reality television stars who often are celebrities based on lack of intelligence, lack of morality, and lack of character.
And so we must continue to build monuments like those in Washington D.C., New York, and Shanksville to continue to remind us and inspire us. It is fitting and necessary. We do so because all too often the media would rather celebrate that which represents our lesser angels. In fact, it appears they are obsessed with our lowest common denominator. However, when we ignore the examples of higher charter, evil wins. We can never stop recognizing and celebrating higher character.
It takes character to struggle against evil, and character requires compassion and faith, two things that the fire service has in abundance. Firefighters have faith in a set of values that they hold dear and that they profess through their actions, their sacrifice, and their character.
Their sacrifice is driven by compassion, a deep and undeniable love for their fellow man. Firefighters by their very nature are gentle and sensitive people who value life and work tirelessly to ensure the safety of their neighbors. The fire service does not suffer fools lightly, and every firefighter knows that despite taking every possible precaution, using every possible tool, and accessing every piece of training, there will always be a tremendous element of risk in the work they have chosen to do.
As we take time this year to remember the incredible bravery, the noble sacrifices, and the unparalleled display of higher character of the heroes of 9/11, we should take stock of ourselves and reflect on the example they have left for us at such a dear price. They taught us that bravery came not from a sense of invulnerability and a lack of fear but just the opposite. We should remember that each and every one of them recognized the terrible danger involved in fighting a fire so well-developed and so high above the ground. They drew their strength and quieted their fears because they knew they were serving in a company of heroes.
And so, like their ancestors before them who stood up to evil, they, too, on that tragic day looked evil in the eye and said, “It stops with me.” They didn’t know about the horrible conspiracy of men who perpetrated that mournful day, but they recognized the horror the fire represented to those trapped above the ground. They met the fire that day with the courage that comes from compassion, with the bravery that comes from unbreakable camaraderie, and with the faith that comes through belief in an unconditional love of their fellow man. They left us with an opportunity to celebrate the “better angels of our nature,” the essence of higher character.
This year, let us visit the memorials we have, let us plan new ones in cities without memorials, and let us pause and share the memory of these men of character, the 343 who are gone but who are not forgotten and whose memories will inspire generations.
