National EMS Memorial Service This Weekend
The National EMS Memorial Service weekend got underway in Colorado Springs Friday; Saturday saw the induction into the memorial of 19 more providers killed in the line of duty.
The service is held in Colorado Springs each year on the fourth Saturday in June and surrounded by additional events for survivors and those paying tribute. This includes a Colorado leg of the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride (held Friday), a social mixer and meals at the host hotel, the Antlers Hilton.
At 7:30 MDT Saturday, EMS services and providers across the nation observed the National Moment of Silence in conjunction with those at the ceremony. Memorial service leaders asked for 60 seconds of voluntary radio silence.
The purpose of the National EMS Memorial Service is to commemorate and honor EMS providers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. It began in Virginia in 1991, then grew to become a national event. In 1998 Congress recognized it as the nation’s official EMS memorial.
For more information, see https://nemsms.org; find this year’s honorees at https://nemsms.org/2013.htm.
