“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.” – General Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army LODD: Fire fighter dies from progressive respiratory failure – Massachusetts, 2002

The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II by Mari K. Eder is an amazing book detailing the contribution of several women who changed, not only the course of the war, but the course of history in many, many ways. The author, Mari […]

“The truly great leader overcomes all difficulties, and campaigns and battles are nothing but a long series of difficulties to be overcome. The lack of equipment, the lack of food, the lack of this or that are only excuses; the real leader displays his quality in his triumphs over adversity, however great it may be.” […]

“Real heroes are men who fall and fail and are flawed, but win out in the end because they’ve stayed true to their ideals and beliefs and commitments.” – Kevin Costner. LODD: A Maine fire captain is killed and 6 others injured, including 5 firefighters in a suspected gas explosion at a business in 2019 […]

LODD: Two volunteer fire fighters die after an explosion while attempting to extinguish a fire in a coal storage silo – South Dakota, 2011 Volunteer fire fighter killed during wildland/field fire – Indiana, 1999 Major Incidents: In 2001, 4 loaded barges veered off course and struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Texas causing several vehicles […]

LODD: Fire fighter-emergency medical technician suffers sudden cardiac death after multiple emergency responses – Massachusetts, 2007 Career fire fighter dies after roof collapse following roof ventilation – Iowa, 2002

While we are catching up on book reviews, here is another good one… JFK Has Been Shot by Charles A. Crenshaw M.D. (Author), Jens Hanse (Author), J. Gary Shaw (Author) relates the recollections of one of the surgeons tasked with trying to save the President’s life in the ER. This one may make you question […]

The Expendable: The true story of Patrol Wing 10, PT Squadron 3, and a Navy Corpsman who refused to surrender when the Philippine Islands fell to Japan by John Floyd tells the story of Charles Beckner, another of “The Greatest Generation”, as he works to do his duty during the chaos of being trapped in the […]

Never Forget! Daniel Suhr: A Story of September 11th by Paul Conlon captures the emotion, struggles and tragedy of that terrible day. The author was a FDNY Captain assigned to Engine 216 in Brooklyn and was dispatched after the second tower was hit. Daniel Suhr was the senior firefighter and the first firefighter to be […]

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” – Arthur Ashe LODD: In 2002, a volunteer firefighter died when he entered a molasses vat to attempt to rescue a downed co-worker, who also died. Major […]