Re: The Mercy Air crash

[Jeremy Hawk <akulahawk@earthlink.net>]

Title: Re: The Mercy Air crash

Hear, hear! I wish I could be so eloquent...

Jeremy Hawk

> Well Said,
> Michael!!!!!!!
>  
> Mike
> Smith
> (how was
> that Mark?)
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Michael
> > To: flightmed@flightweb.com
> > Sent: Sunday, September 08, 2002 5:13
> > AM
> > Subject: The Mercy Air crash
> >
> > Yet another crash.  Three more fallen comrades.
> >
> > 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
> >
> >
> > Michael Cox, EMT-P, RN
> > Florida Flight 1
> >
> >
> >