By Erin Hicks
EMS1 Associate Editor
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Hundreds of people gathered on the weekend to commemorate the lives of EMS providers who died in the line of duty over the past year.
Friends and family of the fallen, along with political leaders and representatives from a range of EMS organizations, paid their respects during the National EMS Memorial Service.
“I think the public understands how dangerous the job of a firefighter or police officer can be, but I think only a small percentage understands how dangerous EMS can be,” said Kevin Agard, Vice President/PIO of the National EMS Memorial Service.
The 18th annual National EMS Memorial Service took place in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the first time this year. Previous events had been held in Roanoke, Va., but the closure of the city’s EMS museum coupled with a growing attendance for the service prompted a search for a new host city.
Agard estimated Saturday’s ceremony attendance to be near 700 people, and said he was extremely pleased with how things went.
Read on for his testimony and three other attendees’ stories on what brought them to Colorado Springs for the memorial, who they were honoring, and what it meant to them to be there.
‘Everyone was very impressed’
Rich Long attended the event with his wife, Colleen, and their 15-year-old daughter, Abigayle. They were representing his brother, Dale Long, a Vermont paramedic supervisor who died in June last year after his ambulance collided with a pick-up truck and spun into a tree. His life and death has prompted Congress to create the Dale Long bill to ensure all responders, including those who work for a nonprofit and volunteers, to get the same death benefits as full-time, career responders.
 Photo Kevin Agard Rich Long and Timothy Long accept honors for Dale Long at the service Saturday. |
“This was my family’s first time attending a national memorial service. I’m a retired police officer, and I’m used to going to other memorial services when people were killed in the line of duty but never one like this.
“This one was very classy, very well done. Obviously, they had gotten this good at it by doing a lot of them, which is bittersweet.
“For many people in attendance, I think everyone was very impressed, so it was a feel-good service and I think they did a wonderful job honoring each of those that had passed. I was really glad to be a part of that.
“Because they did a live stream video, we were able to call back home to people that were not able to make the service so they could watch it, live. We were getting text messages right after the service from family and friends saying they watched the whole thing.
“Both my wife and I decided to become EMTs and volunteer for our local squad. Our goal is to become paramedic certified. Never would we have done this before my brother was killed, but we took it as fate — it feels right to carry on his work.”
‘Extraordinary people doing things that had become ordinary to them’
Kevin Agard is the Vice President/PIO of the National EMS Memorial Service and has attended the event for the past 16 years.
“A lot of people came for the first time since it was located more centrally this year than in years past.
“I am amazed at how well it went considering it’s a new city, a new venue. Everyone worked really hard, especially the honor guards — it’s like an all star team. They have to work with each other, do things in unison. They’re working with people they’ve never worked with before, and I think they did a good job of working as a unit.
“I’ve heard about a lot of amazing people throughout [my 17 years] of attending. Interestingly enough I went to a memorial in New York City for everyone who was lost in 9/11. The secretary of state at the time said something that struck me as wrong: He said there are ordinary people out there, doing extraordinary things that made them heroes. I had no problem with him calling [responders] heroes, but he had the reasons wrong. They were extraordinary people doing things that had become ordinary to them: Risking their lives every day for others.”
‘It couldn’t have been more perfect’
EMT Carol Moore along with her sister and brother attended the ceremony for her father, Duquesne, Pa., EMS Chief Harry Moore, who suffered a fatal heart attack while responding to a multi-vehicle crash in November last year.
 Photo Kevin Agard The Moore family accept honors for Harry Moore, Sr., Saturday. |
“My dad and I went to EMT school together. About 14 years ago my mother passed away and I noticed my father was sitting in the dark a lot and I said, you can’t do this, you’re going to EMT school with me. I signed him up even though he said he didn’t want to go.
“He ran 900 calls his first year as an EMT.
“We came in late Thursday and were there through Sunday. The events they had for the families were so moving and supportive. Some of the honor guard was from Pittsburgh and I knew some of those guys from my dad’s funeral. When I got there, they were greeting me. They played for the ceremony and they played later that evening in the bar of the hotel.
“I got to meet a lot of people in the same position as me — sharing that was really important. The service itself was perfect. They couldn’t have done anything better. It was beautiful. When the helicopters flew over, it was really impressive and powerful.
“The church was perfect. It was big enough to hold everyone but it had a cozy feeling. It was really beautiful. The man who sang had a beautiful voice. It brought everyone to tears.
“The moment of silence nationwide was very powerful. It was played over all the frequencies in Allegheny county back home. I believe most dispatchers throughout the nation recognized the national moment of silence during the ceremony on Saturday.
“Sunday we had a family breakfast and during that they allowed people to speak. I talked about my dad and me going to EMT school together and about our history of being partners.”
‘It just keeps getting better’
Paramedic Jennifer Lyon, who took part in last month’s National EMS Memorial Bike Ride, was among those who embarked on an additional ride Friday that started in Littleton and ended in Colorado Springs. She rode in honor of Chris Meadows, a Calif. EMT who died in May last year after getting struck by an ambulance during a beach rescue. She never met him, but said he ‘seems like someone I’d want to know.’
“Initially I wasn’t going to do both rides since the East Coast ride was through my hometown and there was no way I was going to miss it. But the family of the guy I was riding for wanted his dog tags that I rode with and there was no way I could just send them by UPS.
“His dad got a hold of me on the anniversary of his death. He said they’d love to meet me and get the tags. It was important for me to be able to connect with the families. The riders obviously take carrying these tags very seriously — if you have to sit out the leg of the run, you find another rider to carry the tags. It’s a big deal.
“I did the bike ride last year and this year. It just keeps getting better. Last year I walked away from the ride with 140 new friends and I can honestly say a day doesn’t go by where I don’t think about the ride in one way or another.
“Ten ‘muddy angels’ came back to do the Colorado ride. It’s so hard for me to describe how akin you feel with these people, immediately. Whether you’re riding for someone you don’t know or someone you do know — we all have the same goal. Everyone’s there to support each other. And that’s the best part.”