After 24 years in EMS and 10 in Air-Medical Transport and Critical
Incident Stress Management, it never gets easier, if anything it becomes
harder. I did not know the crew members personally and yet, like so
many others, I think we all knew them at a deeper level.
After 9-11 the word “Hero” was tossed about indiscriminately. I
resist calling our departed comrades heroes, to do so dishonors
their sacrifice. A hero is someone who performs heroic
actions out of the ordinary without truly understanding the danger of
their actions. This crew knew the dangers, they lived with it every
shift and yet they came back to work each day, not because they wanted to
be heroes, but because it was the job they loved. Like the
rest of us I am confident they did not see themselves as heroes
either. They, and the rest of us, were simply men and women who
worked very hard to get into a position where they could help others
while meeting their personal goals to achieve, grow and become the very
best at what they loved doing, flying.
While we mourn the deaths of our brothers and sisters we should also
celebrate their lives and try to find some solace, however slight, in the
fact they died doing what they loved while trying to help others.
Their very existence personified the Air Force Pararescue motto; “That
Others Might Live.”
To often we have all seen death without purpose bringing to an end so
many lives without meaning. There can be no higher purpose than
service to others. Regardless of the cause of the crash, our
comrades died while fulfilling the noble purpose of living a life of
service few civilians will ever truly understand.
If you pray, join with me in a prayer for our friend’s families and loved
ones. Pray that they will receive the strength and courage they
will need to get through this horrible time in their lives. Pray
the sacrifices this crew made will not simply be another news blip, here
today, forgotten tomorrow. Pray that it is a long, long time before
the next crash.
Join me in celebrating our brothers and sisters by renewing our
dedication to their, and our, profession. Honor them by putting safety
above all else. Each day before you go on shift remember them by
hugging those you care about and telling them “I love you.” God
forbid, but one day it may be the last time they hear it from you.
I salute my departed comrades at Mercy Air. I send my sincerest
condolences to their families. I mourn with their devastated team
members and I pray for divine protection for us all.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends.” John 15:13
