The morning of July 22 was warm, sunny and relatively cloudless, as it usually is when the Evanston Fire Department holds its annual Remembrance Ceremony, Fire Chief Paul Polep commented.
Close to 100 people gathered at Evanston’s Firefighter Park to commemorate the lives of firefighters and police officers who died on the job. Current and retired firefighters paid their respects to their fallen comrades who put their lives on the line for people they did not know.
It was also a warm and sunny day when Evanston firefighter Marty Leoni made the ultimate sacrifice in his attempt to save the life of a baby in a 1985 blaze in a Jackson Avenue home. Forty years later, his family still celebrates his life, and has attended the ceremony since its inception in 1993, Polep said.
Evanston Firefighters William Craig and George Stiles were also honored at Wednesday’s ceremony, with remarks from IAFF Local 742 President William Lynch, Illinois State Senator Laura Fine (9th) and Police Commander Kenneth Carter.
Invocations were read by Rev. Tom Howard and Rabbi Tzvi Montrose.
“It’s said within faith circles that our faith is only going to last a generation, because if you don’t share it, it’s gone. And that’s true in so many aspects of our life,” Howard said.
Howard spoke of a scripture within the Bible where Prophet Elijah died next to his mentee Elisha. Howard said Elisha mourned his mentor’s death, but because of his teachings, was able to continue his legacy.
“The lesson for us in that is that when we lose someone, we mourn, but we also take what they gave us and we learn and we grow,” Howard said. “We get to not only be here to remember them, we get to celebrate who they were, and we get to grow upon that.”
“There are many, many retired men and women that faced danger with unwavering resolve, and their legacy also continues to inspire all of us,” said Montrose. “We also recognize the sacrifices that are often unseen: the emotional and mental toll that this work takes on those who carry its weight every single day. It’s not only the uniform that defines you, it’s the strength, resilience and compassion with which you serve, day in and day out.”
“July 22 is an opportunity to reset, a time to pause, to take a moment out of what can often feel like an endlessly busy, perhaps even chaotic line of work, and remind ourselves that who we are and what we do is not a burden, but a privilege,” Lynch said.
The ceremony ended with a bell ceremony by the EFD Color Guard. The bell ceremony, according to Captain Jason Hays, was used in the early years of American fire departments to call the start and end of a shift, and would also be used to announce the death of a firefighter.
