We stand here today, on these hallowed fields, to pay our respects to those heroes who have been lost to us in the line of duty. The first responders we honor this afternoon were men and women who came from many different walks of life. These police officers, firefighters, and paramedics represented a wide array of beliefs and backgrounds. But they were united by a simple idea, that the safety and security of their family, their friends, and their neighborhoods were worth striving for, worth living for, and even worth dying for. Though these fallen heroes no longer stand among us, their memories live on. They live on in the lives of the children they saved from a burning home or the partner they pushed out of the path of an assailant’s bullet. They live on in the families that can sleep soundly in the knowledge that their neighborhood is safe. And they live on in the prosperity and security of the communities they so selflessly and heroically served. Joseph Campbell, one of the great philosophers of the 20th Century, once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” These fallen heroes sacrificed their lives protecting and preserving the lives of others. There is no calling higher, no service nobler. We owe these courageous first responders a debt that can never be repaid. No words we can say will bring them back or fill the void of their loss. We are all diminished by the absence of brave police officers like Lieutenant Michael Howe, courageous firefighters like Thomas Rice, Sr., and heroic paramedics like Brian Neville. But we can honor their memories by living as they lived – for one another. We must commit ourselves to building a better, stronger community not only for ourselves, but also for others. To the families of our fallen heroes, you have my sincere condolence. Please know that the people of Baltimore County share in your sorrow and your loss, and that we will never forget the bravery, selflessness, and sacrifice of those we honor today. We will remember them and the way they lived their lives. |
Courthouse 