GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The 17th Training Wing hosted the annual Department of Defense Fallen Firefighter Memorial to honor and pay tribute to firefighters who put their lives on the line, March 22. The memorial included the firefighters’ prayer, lowering of the flags to half-staff, and the firefighters’ final call.
The final call is signified by the ringing of a bell, a tradition that harks back to the earliest days of firefighting tradition, where a bell is rung to signify the beginning and end of a call. The ceremonial bell is rung five times as a send-off to the firefighters who laid down their lives in the line of duty.
“Back then, this was a barren field with a flagpole on it,” said Michael Robertson, former training development chief at the Louis F. Garland DoD Fire Academy, “The Military Firefighter Heritage Foundation helped raise money for the name plaques, and we do this for them, not for us. We want their loved ones to know that they’re honored.”
The 17th TRW has graduated over 60,000 students from fire protection training courses at the Louis F. Garland DoD Fire Academy since 1993.
This year’s event honored the families of five fallen DoD firefighters who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation
The following firefighters were memorialized:
Assistant Chief Michael L Baker, 190th Air Refueling Wing, Forbes Field, KS
Firefighter Brice C. Trossbach, Naval District Washington Fire Department, Patuxent River, Maryland
Mr. Allen Roush, Senior Fire Emergency Service Analyst, Headquarters USAF, Washington, DC
Capt. Adam Hart, 1st SOCES, Hurlburt Field, FL
Chief TJ Maury, NAS JRB New Orleans, LA