‘Final Honors’ are reserved exclusively for men and women who are firefighters, law enforcement officers, and members of the military. They are in recognition not only of their service but also of their devotion to their oath to protect and defend the Constitution of these United States, our states’ Constitution, and the laws of our communities. Final honors are the most eloquent display of respect from the people of a grateful nation. For the honoree, it represents a commitment to something greater than self.
— Robert Halton,188金宝搏是正规吗editor in chief andFDICeducation director; 2013 Opening Ceremony & General Session
“Every firefighter takes an oath of service; other people simply accept a job. As such, those who lead the fire service have a moral andethicalobligation to those they serve and to their families. For swearing this oath, for pledging our fidelity to the Constitution, our nation, and our communities, we are provided final honors, one of our nation’s most respected traditions,” Halton told audience members, as he stood on the stage in Sagamore Ballroom among screens depicting the Greenwood (IN) Fire Department Honor Guard performing “Final Honors” for the Fallen Firefighters of 2012 at last year’s Opening Ceremony and General Session.
Halton wove the threads of Honor, Final Honors, Responsibility, Past Fire Service Legends, and today’s fire service members who are true to their “oath” into his message that memorialized past members of the fire service, encouraged and advised members in the audience, and inspired audience members to leave the auditorium proud and eager to serve in the fire service and to exemplify the “service culture.”
He reassured the audience that they should not interpret budget decisions as signs that the public does not respect the work they do. He also reminded them that their individual and group actions and reactions can affect public perceptions. “Regardless of how we feel or how unjust we see a situation,” he noted, “it is critical that we as oath takers remain true to our fire service values. We can never allow our conduct or other firefighters’ conduct to tarnish our reputations or the hard-earned honor of the fire service.”
Firefighters need to protect and treasure, after our family and faith, our reputation, our character, and our honor– not our homes, our cars, or our 401Ks or pensions—Halton stressed. “Our personal honor is a direct reflection on our profession’s honor.” And, Halton added, “When out in public, it is critical to always remember that the fire service’s reputation is the result of the selfless sacrifices of tens of thousands of firefighters who have come before you.”
“Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage define the culture of the fire service,” Halton explained, “but one value—selfless service–defines the firefighter culture above the rest. It is the value that guides us in the darkest of smoke and the most intense of fires.”
Halton depicted the most impressive aspect of the fire service as “the quality of the individual firefighter—the firefighter who despite all odds, despite all limitations, and despite all the risks, continues to pursue our mission honorably, continues to bear true faith and allegiance, in the correct order, to the Constitution, the fire service, and the community.”
Illustrating how “the roots of our culture of selfless service go back many years,” Halton took the audience back to December 29, 1894, to a sixth battalion buggy slowing to a stop and a chief stepping off it into a cold New York City night. Halton presented a gripping account of the fire that took the life of FDNY’s Battalion Chief John J. Bresnan, the inventor of the Bresnan distributor, the hose roller, and a swinging harness for the horses, and Assistant Foreman (Engineer) John L. Rooney, when a water tower collapsed on them in the fire.
The legacy, Halton pointed out, is documented. “It was said of Chief Bresnan that ‘no braver, abler, or more conscientious man than John J. Bresnan ever drew a paycheck in the service of the City of New York,'” Halton noted. Chief Bresnan’s entire career record was ‘unsullied’ by any official complaint of any type.
霍尔顿说：“他是一个真正的消防员的itu告。”布雷斯南酋长举例说明了个人勇气和荣誉。他拥有我们的消防价值。他的行为表明了他对我们最高原则，安全，灭绝，生存和纪律的承诺。安全是他的第一架火场考虑 - 安全的消防，安全的训练和安全的火灾后行动。188金博网网址多少他领导了当天最纪律，熟练的消防员，他们的生存是他最大的关注。”188金博网网址多少霍尔顿补充说，消防不仅仅需要人才和激情。它需要性格，需要诸如布雷斯南（Bresnan）和工程师鲁尼（Rooney）等高级荣誉个人。
The audience was brought also back to 1995, when a young U.S. Air Force pilot named Scott O’Grady was shot down during a flight mission over Bosnia. He was rescued by helicopter after surviving six days of being hunted by hostile ground troops. He returned home to a hero’s welcome, but he denied being a hero. Halton related that O’Grady, looking back on what drove him to serve his country and to do his best to represent it with honor and personal valor, said, ‘It isn’t the reward that matters or the recognition you might harvest. It is your depth of commitment, your quality of service, the product of your devotion – these are the things that count in a life. When you give purely, the honor comes in the giving, and that is honor enough.’
霍尔顿通过阐述“荣誉足够”的概念来吸引观众回到今天。霍尔顿说：“在这个伟大的国家的每个社区中，无私的消防员都为我们所有人树立了榜样，纯粹，定义荣誉和示例性格。”他举了一些例子，其中原则说明“奉献中的荣誉是足够的荣誉”：
- A crew from Rochester was training and saw smoke in the sky. It responded to a fire and rescued a male in his 50s from the burning home.
- An off-duty Churubusco firefighter came on a burning house. After reporting the fire, he entered and discovered a man inside. The firefighter pulled him out on the driveway and called for the paramedics.
- Lt. Eric Wallace had declared aMaydaywhile conducting interior operations in Bryan ,Texas. Lt. Greg Picard was part of the rapid intervention crew that entered the heavily involved structure to rescue Lt. Wallace. Conditions were unbelievably dynamic. All three firefighters sustained severe burns while locating and extricating Lt. Wallace, who was dead. Lt. Picard died from the burns he received in that rescue.
“O’grady上尉是正确的,”哈尔顿证实:“当you give purely, the honor comes in the giving, and for us that is honor enough. It is honor enough for every firefighter–honor that can only be won by individual acts of courage, honor that can be won only by selfless service to others. We leave here today dedicated
to our mission to being quality individuals like Chief Bresnan, Engineer Rooney, Capt. O’Grady, and Lt. Picard. We leave here today dedicated to our oath, dedicated to serving purely, and knowing that the fire service honor is intact because its honor lives in you and in me.”
