Posted on 07/09/2013 10:40:25 AM PDT by CedarDave
Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a memorial service for 19 "Hot Shot" firefighters killed battling the Yarnell Hill wildfire in Prescott, Arizona. The memorial takes place at the Tim's Toyota Center Arena in Prescott Valley.
This is so much more than just a memorial service - it's honoring 19 young men who lived their dream of serving their fellow citizens. They are mostly in their 20's with about a dozen fatherless children under the age of six. Several wives are expecting children within the next several months.
The 6,000 seats inside the arena are filled with family, invited friends and firefighters from Arizona, other states and other countries.
I had to work this afternoon, but will watch the rerun. This story touches my heart.
Cedar Dave, thank you for all the links, the broadcast connection and follow-along, donation sites, and the archived link. It was most generous of you to compile the info and share this heart-touching and beautiful memorial with us.
A couple of months ago, I made a new friend who touched my heart - a veteran firefighter. I’d just moved here, and one night, I looked across the street and saw him tinkering on the Model-A coupe in his garage. I walked over to introduce myself and admire it, and before long, he was recounting his firefighting days, of lives won and lost, and of his fallen comrades.
When I gently teased him about his ever-present shriner’s cap, he told me he always wore it, even at night, because of severe burns he received rescuing a baby and two kids from a burning home. He regularly drives children to the shriner’s hospitals south and west of the city.
Wherever they are, in heaven or on earth, these brave souls are a true league of extraordinary gentleman. May God bless them and keep them and comfort those who love them. Amen.
I’ll pray for your nephew, Lakeside Granny. To lose so many brothers... it must be for him, at times, an overwhelming feeling of loss. I hope you’ll tell him that people he doesn’t even know all over the country are upholding him in prayer.
having spent 6 seasons in Southern California wildland fire as a young man, Forest Service engines, helitack and First Shovel on the Hot Shots , I have had to run for my life many times on hotline, spent many nights holding line in a light combat sleep with boots on, spent weeks out on the line with scarce food or water. I could write a book, so I have an extremely close feeling of knowing what it would be like to cook in a firefight.Our Motto was screw that baked potato wrapper and run for your life
I have an intense burning anger at the US forest service about this, the cheap incompetent basterds should have had at least five C-130s ready to drop retardant on that crew. I was saved a few times by air support. The brave pilot contractors would swoop in at treetop level, VFR in heavy smoke and crazy wind in old WW2 bombers and drop right on us when we were overrun, but they mothballed the contractors and wont spend the funding on the hundreds of NG C-130's
the US Government is scoudrell scum, they can spend gazillions of dollars to rout Ghadaffy or Saddaam to loot their money but cant spare a dime for to save their own
Screw You Biden , I hope you burn in hell
God bless you, KTM rider. Tears of fury, here!
Adam competed in the Olympics (air rifle) 9 years ago.
I didn’t know that...thanks.
You all have NO IDEA how wonderful it’s been to see firefighters from all over the state just jumping in here to take over.
And police, from what I hear. It’s been an incredible show of love.
Now, if folks will help out with the people in Yarnell...
You're very welcome. Here is another (Hat tip: Brad’s Gramma) but very poor quality:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8749jBCe4yc&feature=youtu.be
The C-span link is still active, too, but they lost the first 30 minutes. My suggestion for anyone who wants to watch is to watch the first 30 minutes on YouTube and then watch the rest on C-Span:
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