Quote:
Originally Posted by Tantalizer43
Thanks! You should be very proud of your father... That was very touching. His guys look very sharp in thier Class A uniforms honoring him.
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Thank you for saying that!!!...they are like family to me...
My Dad was their oldest member with the most years of service...he was just honored for his 60 yrs in March 2008, and 6 months later, in September, he was gone...
He kept telling me for the last 3 yrs of his life that, "I just want to get my 60 yrs, and then I'm ready to pack it in", and that is EXACTLY what happened...I do believe he was hanging on for that milestone...
The guys in his Company tell me that part of Company 1 died with my Dad...he was so loved and respected...
We had a 'presidential level' funeral procession with every single firetruck in the Department driving to the cemetery with a police escort...the Chief's cars were the limos for our family...
Here are a few more photos for you.....
the 1st one is of our whole family with my Dad being recognized for his 60 yrs of service at the Annual Installation Dinner...(I am standing next to my Dad with the black dress and blond hair)
the 2nd one is his coffin passing by his firehouse under the ladder trucks with the American flags...that's where his turnout gear was and they rang the bell as each truck and car passed the firehouse...we then went past his house(keep in mind it was 8 firetrucks and 3 Chief's cars), then on to the cemetery where he was buried with full military honors for serving in the Navy during WWII...