It’s likely every firefighter’s mantra, and for them, it’s no fleeting sentiment. It’s like a code of conduct, a way of life, words they live by. When firefighters say, “We will never forget,” they mean it.

It’s nearly impossible to forget something that is felt so deeply, the moment the news reaches the ears and touches the heart with such a profound sadness. A firefighter remembers when they hear that a fellow firefighter has fallen in the line of duty. They honor the fallen and promise the families that they will never forget their names, lest they one day become the fallen and the forgotten.

Former Rochester Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Morse remembers the exact moment and the ones that followed when he heard about the Charleston Super Sofa Store fire in Charleston, South Carolina on June 18, 2007. Morse, who now resides in Florida, recalled how he had been cherishing every moment that led up to hearing the terrible news as he had been celebrating his wedding anniversary all day long with his wife, Candy. When he went to bed that night, he did so knowing that there were line of duty deaths, with five people reported missing and presumed dead. When he woke up, he learned that nine fellow firefighters had lost their lives.

“That’s pretty hard to take,” said Morse. “I felt this overwhelming something. … There was something in my heart that wanted to do something for them. A way to show the family that we haven’t forgotten.”

On August 24, he did do something, as did seven other firefighters who banded together to form and participate in Southern New England’s first ever Brotherhood Ride that began in front of the Firefighters Memorial on Hartley Road and four days later – over 300 miles – finished in Falmouth.

            Riding through Massachusetts and Rhode Island, eight firefighters rode their bikes wearing the names of 14 line of duty lives lost over the past year, making stops in each of their towns to meet with family and their fellow firefighters.

Rochester Firefighter Andy Weigel organized the inaugural ride after riding last year in the Florida Brotherhood Ride. For Weigel, the positive impact such a ride had on the families of the fallen is hard to explain. “There’re no words that can do it justice,” said Weigel.

“Unfortunately, life goes on and those guys,” said Weigel, “their names get pushed to the wayside.”

The group met at the Rochester fire station at the corner of Pine Street and walked their bikes up Hartley Road beneath an American flag hanging from Marion’s Engine 1, and over to the Firefighter’s Memorial, solemnly led by a bagpiper and slowly followed by a line of fire trucks. The public stood by and watched, many of them filming from their smart phones, and assembled for a short opening ceremony and blessing.

“This was a dream we had,” said Morse. “And to think that dream could turn into what it’s turned into today is unbelievable.”

Joining Weigel from Rochester were firefighters Kevin Richard, Rob Dias, and Brandon Dion. Joining Morse from Florida were Ralph Longoria and retired Boston firefighter Manny Arruda, and firefighter Craig Malchow of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

“To think that I’d be coming down Pine Street followed by a bagpiper,” said Morse. “This dream has just become so involved with so many people on the department, and I just can’t thank Rochester enough for wanting to do something like this and bringing this full circle.”

For all eight riders, the ride wasn’t about them; it was about those who fell in the line of duty. It was a way to show the families that they cared, that their loved ones truly wouldn’t be forgotten, and that someone was carrying those messages with them during every one of those 316 miles.

“Whatever pain and whatever heartache we go through the next four days is nothing compared to what those families are still going through to this day,” said Morse.

Reverend Richard Crowley said during his blessing, “Judgment is not doing amazing things, it’s responding to everyday needs and people, and that’s what you’re doing here today.”

The group made regular updates on social media during the four days of their ride, posting video footage of their various stops along the way and the myriad ways others showed their support for the riders. And as serious an event as this one was, there were times that called for a good laugh, like when Kevin Richard was the first to take a tumble from his bike and had to wear the “pink panties.”

And finally, on August 28, the group made its final post to Facebook with an update on their fourth and final day of the ride. “Our mission is now complete and we laid the 14 heroes to rest,” the post reads. “We reminded everyone along the way of the sacrifices they made to protect their communities and showed the ones closest to them that they will NEVER be forgotten.”

Perhaps we too will remember their names: David Boislclair, Pawtucket; Robert Davis, North Hampton; Lt. Kenneth Donnelly, Lexington; Lt. Kevin Lang, Cranston; Deputy Chief Stephen Porciello, Arlington; Anthony Spano, Chicopee; Joseph Toscano, Watertown; Capt. Gregory Clements, Falmouth; David Diloria, North Providence; Chief Stephen Frye, Montgomery; Robert Lavallee, New Bedford; John Mulcahy, III, Fitchburg; Lt. Richard Stevens, Devens; K-9 Koda, Brockton Police Department.

By Jean Perry

Every Friday a group of ladies gather at the dining hall at The Bay Club in Mattapoisett for lunch, enjoying a nice meal, a few rounds of LCR (Left Center Right), and each other’s company. This past Friday, August 24, these luncheon ladies gathered as they usually do, but this time there was an extra table for some special guests – some teddy bears and some soft, stuffed lambs, who themselves didn’t have much to say in terms of a conversation. The silent presence of those stuffed animals that day did, however, say plenty about the women who brought them there and of the woman who ‘invited’ them.

Wendy Russo, a Bay Club resident and member of the ladies’ lunch group got an email one day from Bridgette Flynn from Southcoast Health, who told Russo about an effort to provide baby gift baskets to babies born with opioid addictions at Southcoast hospitals. According to Flynn, every month about 10 opioid-addicted babies are born at Southcoast hospitals, roughly 150 a year. The doctors and nurses care for the babies until they are released into foster care, leaving the hospital, sadly, without any belongings of their own.

Russo didn’t like the thought of that at all. She approached her fellow luncheon ladies right away and asked if they would join her in putting together baby gift baskets filled with those essentials every baby needs – receiving blankets, onesies, baby bunting, bottles, booties – the usual items found in a newborn’s nursery.

“They all responded,” said Russo graciously.

Russo recalled when she first approached Janet Granere, also of Mattapoisett, who enthusiastically said she would love to help.

“It was a special idea,” said Grenere. “I did it because I think it’s a very nice thing.”

Each lady filled bags and baskets with all the items on the list. “And we took it upon ourselves to add some other things, too,” said Russo, who fell in love with the soft, cuddly stuffed lambs that, when you wind them up, play “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” their white, fleecy heads swaying slowly back and forth. She topped off her gift baskets, each with a little lamb.

The baskets and bags were like a mountain of soft pink and blue hues, with a little green mixed in from Mattapoisett resident Anne Downey’s bag; after all, as Russo pointed out, “She’s the ‘ambassador of Ireland.’”

Representatives from Southcoast Health were there to receive the gift baskets, and thanked the women for their gesture of kindness.

“These babies never had a baby shower, and nobody painted them a nursery,” said Russo. “We don’t know who these babies are,” continued Russo, but they do know that these babies will at least leave the hospital and enter the world with blankets, booties, and little stuffed lambs – belongings of their very own, served with a side of love from the luncheon ladies of The Bay Club.

By Jean Perry