A procession of bagpipers and drummers in traditional Highland dress marched across the lawn of the Ventura County Government Center to open the fourth annual fallen firefighters memorial ceremony Saturday morning.
The ensemble, members of the Pipes and Drums of California Professional Firefighters, accompanied the presentation of colors at the event, which dedicated a monument in honor of the 39 firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice while assigned in Ventura County.
Photo by Jeff Ball - Members of the Ventura County Fire Department unveil a monument to honor the 39 firefighters who died in the line of duty while assigned to work in Ventura County.
Three firefighters hoisted the national and state flags along with a red memorial flag embroidered with the phrase “All gave some. Some gave all.”
Ventura County Fire Department Chief Bob Roper addressed a crowd of more than 800 people and said he hopes the memorial will be a place where family, friends, fellow firefighters and residents can come to remember the dead.
The crowd, including 200 firefighters standing at attention, witnessed the unveiling of the statue, which gleamed in the sun, while the bagpipes played “Amazing Grace.”
The 7-foot statue, cast in solid bronze, depicts a firefighter in turnout gear cradling an infant wrapped in a blanket. It stands atop a 7,000-pound granite pedestal, engraved with the 39 names and the firefighter’s prayer.
A student choir and string quartet from Westlake High School performed throughout the ceremony, and Fillmore Fire Capt. Bob Thompson played taps.
Finally, a bell was rung to honor the fallen firefighters. Three rings of a bell would traditionally signal the end of an emergency response when a fire was put out. The bell ceremony symbolizes the completion of their tours of duty.
“It’s quite an honor and a very beautiful memorial,” said Joseph Luna, of Oxnard, a firefighter with the Los Angeles City Fire Department whose father, Joe L. Luna, is memorialized on the statue’s pedestal.
A member of the Ventura County Fire department, the elder Luna died of a job-related illness in 2007 at the age of 60.
“I saw the pride that my dad had every morning getting ready for work, putting on the badge, and serving the community. Doing what my dad did is an honor in itself,” Joseph Luna said.
The pedestal is situated on a large Maltese cross design in the center of a circular stone platform with five granite benches around its edge. It stands just yards away from the county’s law enforcement memorial.
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