The memory of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that claimed so many lives in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, will never fully vanish. Ten years later, the memorials that were held at Ground Zero and across North America on September 11 help us always remember and never forget.

Honoring each of their lives, their service and sacrifice is profoundly important to everyone in the fire service and to the families of the fallen.

In 2002 we etched every single name of our September 11 fallen on the solid granite walls of our Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Colorado Springs one at a time, letter by letter, with love and dignity, because in this profession, where loss is a part of what we all call the job, it is our duty to honor and reflect on each loss and each life, one at a time.

And this year in Colorado Springs, we once again gathered, to honor and celebrate 87 times the individual lives and stories of our brothers and sisters we lost over this past year just like the 343 FDNY brothers we lost on September 11.

They were sons and daughters. They were parents, friends, neighbors and coaches. Each had their own unique story. And each of them sacrificed everything. Whether they died in New York at Ground Zero or while fighting a wildland fire, in a building collapse, or from one of the insidious diseases contracted over a career of exposure in this profession, where loss is part of the job — it is our duty to honor and reflect on each loss and each life.

And even though we do this well, we all wish we didn’t have to do it so often.

To honor the legacy of the fallen, I believe it is our duty to make the job safer for those still pulling their shifts. We must learn valuable lessons from the tragic loss of a fire fighter. We must consider the circumstances and conditions and strive to work harder and smarter.

If we can accomplish that, we will ensure that we don’t have to gather nearly as often for solemn ceremonies to remember the fallen because more of our brothers and sisters will make it home safely at the end of their shift and be able to enjoy a well-earned retirement after a career serving others.

And we must make that commitment now, in what is one of the most difficult times our members and our profession have faced in the history of the IAFF.

We all see it. More and more is being asked of our members who serve their communities, while at the same time some are too willing to place our members in greater jeopardy, seemingly bound and determined to make sure we are less and less in control of our own safety and security.

Indeed there are those who stand with us during ceremonies to honor the fallen. There are those who like to sing the praises of the work our fallen did while on this Earth, then go back to their offices and with no more consideration than they give to any other line in a budget are making decisions that put our members’ lives and the communities they serve more at risk.

These politicians love us when the cameras are rolling and their own jobs are on the line during an election year. And Lord knows they sure love us when we arrive within minutes in the dead of night with ladders, axes and hoses.

But when the political winds shift, these politicians turn their backs. They scapegoat you and blame the fiscal problems that are a result of the recession on you. They forget who you are and what you do. They seek to silence you, to take away your wages, your benefits and your rights. They cut your staffing and put you at even greater risk.

The challenge for all of us in this difficult time is to stand together in solidarity and defend the honor of our fallen by standing up for the rights of the living to make your dangerous jobs a little less dangerous.

I believe every one of our brave 87 souls we paid tribute to this year in Colorado Springs, and all 343 of our FDNY brothers we lost 10 years ago, would say, “Tell the truth. Use my service, my duty and sacrifice to better the chances that my brothers and sisters will not be placed on the magnificent walls of our memorial.”

We will always remember the price that our fallen brothers and sisters paid. But our hard work now will ensure that fewer in our profession make that sacrifice later.

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