Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 31, 1994                   TAG: 9403310261
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: N-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MEMORIAL SERVICE HONORS RESCUE SQUAD VOLUNTEERS

Widows and daughters, mothers and brothers from 12 states gathered at Greene Memorial United Methodist Church to honor 26 volunteers, five from Virginia, who had sacrificed their own lives to save others.

"A memorial services has many purpose," guest speaker James Page said. "It helps us come to grips with painful losses. It honors the lives of our loved ones."

"The people we've gathered to honor have something in common, a sense of duty to help and care for others. They are driven by a sense of what's right. They deserve our profound respect," said Page, editor and chief of the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.

Page, a rescue volunteer for 37 years, said being an EMS volunteer requires "hard work and skillful performance."

From the beginning, Page said, "you know there is danger. You know it can cost your life."

Of the men and women who have died in the line of duty, Page said, "the opportunity to help and care for others is what drove them."

Mourners watched as the loved ones or colleagues of those being honored marched to the alter to receive an American flag, a single white rose and a medallion. A grandmother from Tennessee accepted two memorials.

The flags had been flown over the nation's Capitol in honor of the many communities served by EMS volunteers; the rose represented love of others; the medallion was a keepsake for those left behind.

Mourners and colleagues wept as a soloist sang "Wind Beneath My Wings," while the faces of those being honored smiled from a large projection screen placed at the alter.

At the conclusion of the service, church bells tolled and sirens sounded. Taps played, and a moment of radio silence was observed.

A reception followed at the Roanoke Valley History Museum, where EMS exhibits honor Julian Stanley Wise, who started the nation's first volunteer rescue squad in Roanoke in 1928.

Inscribed on oak leaves that make up the museum's "Tree of Life" are the names of EMS volunteers from across the nation who have died in the line of duty.

"The service and permanent memorial are the only ones of their kind dedicated solely to EMS personnel," said Mark Whiting of the state Office of Emergency Services.

"The Virginia General Assembly has recognized the memorial service as the official memorial service for Virginia EMS personnel," he said.

He said Roanoke was chosen as the place to hold the memorial service because of the Wise exhibit, the only permanent display of it's kind. Wise attended Greene Memorial United Methodist Church all his life.