This past weekend was the 25th annual candlelight vigil and Sunday service that takes place each year at the Fire Fighters Memorial Foundation in Kingdom City Missouri.
These services honor the lives of firefighters in the state who have passed, and several local firefighters were remembered. Those who gathered heard from NYFD Fire Chief John M. Esposito. Governor Mike Kehoe proclaimed October 4th as Fire Service Memorial Day and ordered the Capitol Dome to be lit red the entire weekend.
Firefighters with over 20 years of service:
Joe Roy Bean served 55 years in the West Plains and Howell Rural Fire Departments.
Vincent Frederick Edgeller served over 20 years with the West Plains Fire Department.
Patricia Ann Sloan served 20 years with the Caufield Fire Department.
Shawn Allen Thompson served 20 years with the Peace Valley-White Church Fire Department
Lyman Russell Tidwell served a combined 50 years with Pomona, Willow Springs and Eleven Point Fire Departments.
Norman D Todd served over 40 years with the Thayer Fire Department.
Verdon Ray Warren served more than 20 years with the Pomona Fire Department.
Firefighters with 10+ years of service:
Melvin Albert Barks SR. served with the West Plains Fire Department.
These services are to honor those who have so willingly served their communities as firefighters and put their lives on the line to protect their neighbors.
Photo Credit Beverly Broyles
