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For the Families Of The 19 Who Perished Fighting The Yarnell Fire...

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The Granite Mountain Hotshot crew that was lost were members of Prescott Fire station 7. Station 7 is located on 6th St. in Prescott, across the street from the gym I managed for the past 3 years. Many of these guys were clients of ours as were their wives and children. I'm fortunate to call some of these guys friends and am blessed to have known them. I've crossed paths with every one of these guys at some point as Prescott is a small town and most of my friends are in the fire service. I can say that these guys are the best of the best and represent a work ethic both on the job and at home that I believe is rare these days and should be celebrated. The men I knew personally lived life to the fullest and loved their families selflessly and wholly. All of the members of the 19 I knew have young families with children all under 5 years old. Their widows and their children will need every ounce of help they can get in the days, months and years to follow this unthinkable tragedy.
I have already donated to this cause and have taken up the role for the gym of helping organize a memorial event and fundraiser. This doesn't scratch the surface of what I wish I could do for the families of these great guys. I have been approached by several board members in the last couple days about another fundraiser (thank you all again for your generosity on the child abuse fundraiser). While the cause is different, the need is equally important as most of these families relied solely on the income of the men who were lost. As some of you may remember I prefer to donate to charities that will have the most impact on the folks who need the help. Having said that, I have researched this charity, know personally the people who manage the charity, and can say with utmost confidence that every penny of the donations will be put directly into the hands of the families and widows of these fallen heroes.

Here is the link to Prescott Firefighter Charities:

http://www.prescottffcharities.org/how-you-can-help/


I'm honored to have trained and call these men friends,

Andrew:

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Clay:

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Travis Carter:

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Travis Turbyfil:

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Granite Mountain Hotshots:

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Faceaz

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Bump... Nice Work PT :thumbsup
 

skiracr

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Heartwrenching... thanks PT.

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HeyouintheBald

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Thanks Taco, if you need any help with anything around town please get a hold of me.
Jarrod
 

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They are bringing the procession of the fallen 19 through in a couple hours... Heavy day for sure

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There's a few different threads here about these guys and I wasn't sure which thread to post in, but honestly it doesn't matter which one because I'm just writing this to vent. It's really to get it out of my head more than anything...

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I had the distinct privilege of training and training with a few of the 19 men that paid the ultimate sacrifice on Yarnell Hill on June 30, 2013. I didn't know the rest of the crew, but I base my knowledge of these 19 men on the interaction I've had with the four men that chose to come and train with my staff and me.

Tuesday of this week the City of Prescott and the greater firefighting community held a memorial for the Granite Mountain Hotshots and their 19 fallen brothers. The event was held at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley which most of the year is the humble home of the Arizona Sundogs, a semi pro hockey team that rarely fills many seats and is mostly an excuse to drink a couple beers and watch the occasional fight. This Tuesday, however, the little arena had it's finest hour. It played host to the most impressive display of support for a community, a profession, and most importantly, a group of men that I have ever been witness to. Seats inside the arena, which holds about 6,000 people, were reserved for immediate family and the extended firefighter family. Outside, the organizers had set up jumbo screens for the thousands of the local community who had shown up to support the families and pay their respects to our local heroes. The road in front of the arena was lined with tactical vehicles from all branches of the fire service. There were red trucks, green trucks, white trucks, all donning purple ribbons and black sashes. It was an impressive sight to say the least...

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Inside the arena, bagpipes played, the Vice President of the United States spoke and people were painted a picture of what it means to be a hero. The speeches were all very well directed and the messages struck home to all in attendance, but one stood out among the rest as the most profound... Toward the end of the list of speakers, Brendan Mcdonough's name was called to speak and he read the Hotshot's Prayer. Brendan, the lone survivor of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew, took the pulpit and read the prayer confidently and clearly... He then paused, cleared his throat, and said simply with broken voice... "I miss my brothers". His message was simple and he was the bravest speaker I've ever seen.
The memorial was a fitting tribute to our boys and their families and I won't ever forget it.
The ceremony was concluded with a Marine Corp flyover of four AV-8B Harriers flying the "missing man formation". It was a chilling tribute to these local heroes.



Yesterday I had the terrible privilege of attending the funerals of 3 of the men who I knew and perished in the Yarnell fire. Travis Turbyfill, Andrew Ashcraft, and Clayton Whitted were honored by their family and community yesterday in the most personal way, and I was honored to be in attendance. Now, I could go into detail about each of the ceremonies and how they differed, but I really would like to talk about a few common threads in each of these very separate events.
The first thing about all three of the services that stuck out was that each one completely embodied the personality of each of these men. If I had never met these guys I would have left each event feeling as though I had known them for years and would be grateful to have had a glimpse of the men they were.
The second common thread was that all three of these men truly lived well. They were take life by the horns, give it all you've got, men of courage and conviction, each in their own special way. Impressive, by definition of the word.
The third and final thing that stood out to me about all three of these men was their dedication to their family and their absolutely selfless giving of themselves to do for others. They were the kind of fathers you read about, the kind of husbands that all men should strive to be, and the kind of friends we all wish we had. They were Men, in every sense, and true to the core.
I was left at the end of the day realizing that these guys did it right and with an overwhelming feeling that I haven't done enough with the life I've been given. I'm left with a comfort that all of these men knew the risks of the jobs they pursued, they knew consequences of losing the fight they willingly fought, and they all knew where they were going in their finest hour. These are men I will never forget and lives I will do my utmost to emulate.

Godspeed, men of the Granite Mountain Hotshot 19. God bless, Brendan McDonough. And thank you and bless you, wives and families for sharing these heroes with us. May they all rest easy...

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Thanks for letting me vent....
 
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Flyinbowtie

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Thanks, Tom, for sharing.


I have been to too, too many of these services, for firemen and cops. With all the stuff that goes on in the world today, it is more comforting than most can imagine to see the respect and support for people who give their lives in service to the community they live in.
 

rrrr

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A nice tribute. Looks like the fella that was a Marine belonged to the 5th or 6th Regiment...he is wearing the Fourragre the Regiment won in battle during WWI. The French government awarded the right to wear the Fourragre to the 5th and 6th Marines for valor on the battlefield.

The 5th Marine regiment's actions in France earned them the right to wear the Fourragre (seen in the outline of the unit's logo), one of only two in the Marine Corps (the other being the 6th Marine Regiment). The award was a result of being the only regiments in the American Expeditionary Force to receive three Croix de guerre citations: two in the order of the army and one in the order of the corps' Fourragre and Croix de guerre with two Palms and Gilt Star. The Fourragre became part of the uniform of the unit, and all members of the organization are authorized to wear the decoration on the left shoulder of the uniform as long as they remain members of the organization.

Sad to see the photos of such handsome men and their beautiful families....RIP.
 

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This day is one that will forever be a time to pause and reflect for my little home town. A year ago today, 19 of the Granite Mountain Hotshots lost their fight on a fiery hill in Yarnell, AZ. These men were friends, husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers, and their absence leaves a painful void in the sleepy community of Prescott. The proximity of this day to the 4th of July is a fitting time frame as Prescott has always come together as a community to embrace our country's Independence Day and it's in that same spirit of community that Prescott will always embrace our fallen 19.
A year later, talk of the Granite Mountain Hotshots now includes words like lawyer, lawsuit, and fault, but the only fact that remains unquestioned is that our community and these families have lost a resource that can never and will never be replaced. On this day I will choose to think, with fondness of heart, about these brave men and their families who's sacrifice will forever be a brilliant example of what heroes are meant to be.
 

SuperJet

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Hard to believe it's already been a year. R.I.P
 

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Hard to believe it's already been a year. R.I.P

So much has changed in a year and yet it seems like just yesterday I was sitting in RD's living room as the news started rolling in on my phone. :(
 

69GS

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Nice write up PT :thumbup: . Hard to believe it's been a year already.
 

RiverDave

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This day is one that will forever be a time to pause and reflect for my little home town. A year ago today, 19 of the Granite Mountain Hotshots lost their fight on a fiery hill in Yarnell, AZ. These men were friends, husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers, and their absence leaves a painful void in the sleepy community of Prescott. The proximity of this day to the 4th of July is a fitting time frame as Prescott has always come together as a community to embrace our country's Independence Day and it's in that same spirit of community that Prescott will always embrace our fallen 19.
A year later, talk of the Granite Mountain Hotshots now includes words like lawyer, lawsuit, and fault, but the only fact that remains unquestioned is that our community and these families have lost a resource that can never and will never be replaced. On this day I will choose to think, with fondness of heart, about these brave men and their families who's sacrifice will forever be a brilliant example of what heroes are meant to be.

Hard to believe it has been a year. That sucks that the lawyers are in the mix. Sucks even more that most of the money raised didn't end up going to the families.

RD
 

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Hard to believe it has been a year. That sucks that the lawyers are in the mix. Sucks even more that most of the money raised didn't end up going to the families.

RD

That's one thing most people don't understand. They see the gross dollars raised and think that someone is just handing that cash to the families. There is a huge divide with the locals, some if which think the families have gotten more than their share. They just don't get it. I hope the families all walk away millionaires personally
 

TheKeysLife

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God bless great write up and pics thanks for sharing PT!!!!!
 

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I was in Prescott today for work and there was lots going on for this anniversary. Also heard of the legal issues. Very sad deal either way.
 

Paul65k

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Well done Tom.............thanks for the update, I know how deeply this has affected you personally:thumbsup:thumbsup
 

RiverDave

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That's one thing most people don't understand. They see the gross dollars raised and think that someone is just handing that cash to the families. There is a huge divide with the locals, some if which think the families have gotten more than their share. They just don't get it. I hope the families all walk away millionaires personally

Their share? More than? LOL It's 100% their share.. That's why people donate to shit like that.

I agree, they need to be able to sustain a life without the income. Those donations could have pulled that off.

RD
 

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Their share? More than? LOL It's 100% their share.. That's why people donate to shit like that.

I agree, they need to be able to sustain a life without the income. Those donations could have pulled that off.

RD

Listening to the Libs complain that the families are getting too much or are greedy makes me want to flick a booger in their hair... Bunch of idiots, wish they'd go play in traffic
 
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