We always talk about respect......

[onewhippedpuppy]

Wichita lost it's first firefighter in something like 10 years recently, but the outpouring of support has made me proud to live where I live.

Firefighter's family grateful for support
BY HURST LAVIANA
The Wichita Eagle

When they left the Central Christian Church at 29th and Rock, Bryon Johnson's relatives weren't prepared for what they were about to see Friday on the 25-mile drive to the cemetery.

At every bridge, every school and every town along the way, they said, mourners stopped to pay their respects to the Sedgwick County firefighter who had given his life in the line of duty.

Several of Johnson's relatives who gathered Saturday in Mulvane said they wanted to thank everyone -- especially members of the Sedgwick County Fire Department -- who made their lives a little easier over the past several days.

But they also wanted to express their gratitude to the hundreds of strangers who stopped during that 25-mile drive across north Sedgwick County to pay their respects.

"People came out of their homes and stood -- people we never met," said Carissa Hunt, Johnson's sister.

"Little kids dressed in firemen's uniforms holding American flags," said Gary Johnson, the firefighter's father.

"The whole community came out," said Pam Johnson, the firefighter's mother.

"Every city in the county, really," said Evin Hunt, the firefighter's brother-in-law.

"It was like the whole city was mourning with us," Carissa Hunt said.

The family members said they weren't ready to talk about how Bryon Johnson died Monday after coming in contact with a downed power line while fighting a grass fire.

Sedgwick County sheriff's investigators said the fire was started when a semi pushed over a power pole as its driver was trying to turn around after driving past "no through traffic" signs on a section of South Broadway.

Although they weren't there Saturday, Johnson's widow, Ariana, and his sons, Aeron and Jacob, are doing well, the relatives said. They credited Johnson's fellow firefighters for pulling the family through a hard time.

But the relatives said they wanted to find a way to express their gratitude to the strangers who paused to pay their respects as Johnson rode to the Resthaven Cemetery on a fire truck draped with purple-and-black flags.

"I'm retired from the Air Force, and I've seen a lot of ceremonies," Gary Johnson said. "But nothing has been as moving as this. Everybody I've talked to said they'd never seen anything like it."

The first half-dozen cars in the 5-mile-long funeral procession carried relatives of the 32-year-old firefighter.

When they arrived at Resthaven, Gary Johnson said, "There was not a dry eye in any of the vehicles."

The relatives also said they were amazed at the outpouring of support from friends, businesses and firefighters, one of whom built the oak casket that Bryon Johnson was buried in.

"Perfect," Carissa Hunt said when asked to describe the casket.

"No, perfect's not the word," Gary Johnson said. "Distinguished. It was simple, but distinguished enough for a person of significance."

"You could definitely tell it was made with love," Carissa Hunt said.

The group said a milestone in the family's recovery from the tragedy occurred Tuesday night, when members of the Sedgwick County Fire Department began showing up at Pam and Gary Johnson's front door around 8 p.m.

"You know you can raise a child and you think you know him," Pam Johnson said. "But the stories that they told us uplifted us."

The firefighters told the family how big a deal it was that Bryon Johnson had been accepted for training at the prestigious National Fire Academy, the firefighters' equivalent of the FBI academy at Quantico.

The family didn't realize before that visit how unusual it was for a firefighter to reach the rank of lieutenant at such a young age.

But the group said the Tuesday night visit proved most beneficial to Bryon Johnson's young sons.

"You could see it in the boys that they knew it was going to be OK," Carissa Hunt said.

"The Fire Department went way beyond the call of duty," Pam Johnson said.

As the conversation returned to the funeral procession, everyone seemed to agree that Bryon Johnson probably would not have approved of such a large outpouring of support.

"He was very humble," said Carissa Hunt. "Bryon just wanted to live an ordinary life. He wanted to do good, but he never wanted to be extraordinary.

"He wouldn't have wanted this," Evin Hunt said of the procession.

"He deserved it," Carissa Hunt said. Gary Johnson said it made an indelible impression on the entire family.

"We'll remember the day he was born, and we'll remember the day that we lost him," he said of his son. "And we'll also remember the people we saw along the way."

http://kansas.com/news/story/188559.html

[Mo_Gearhead]

Indeed.

I consider myself fortunate to have made it through my working career and never had to live in a large, metro area (never over 200K population). Not to put any of them down, many are great places to visit, vacation in, offer diverse cultural experiences, etc. ...but people that never have lived in true 'Rural America' ...have my sympathies.

The heartland/fly-over country is unique ...in so many ways.

[widgeon13]

I would agree 110%. I lived in Salina for five years when I was growing up and it's a great part of the world with wonderful people.

I'm not at all surprised at the show of appreciation and sympathy. Too bad more stories like that don't make it into the news.

[Joeaksa]

Lived in Springfield and spent a lot of time in Wichita years ago. The Mid-West has some very nice things calling me back from time to time and posts like this are one of them.

[Moneyguy1]

Firefighters are somewhat unique. I am a member of the IAFF, even though I was not "officially" a firefighter (did all the stuff to keep them running-equipment specs,, budgets, arguing with the City Fathers for funds, labor negotiations, etc). I even went to the Academy a few times to participate in training so I would understand better the rigors of the profession. When I decided to relocate to AZ from upstate New York, I was given a party and membership by the Department in the "Brotherhood". Members have come out to vist over the past 6 years and keep in touch on a regular basis. They are close knit, argue like real brothers, but are mostly the most selfless individuals I have ever had the privilege to know.

I have attended funerals, promotion events, reirements and visited guys in the hospital recovering from injuries (mostly burns). I have been honored that part of my career gave me the opportunity to get to know these folks.


We could all learn lessons from this kind of dedication.

God bless all the firefighters, police officers and emergency medical techs everywhere.

[Brian 162]

When someone in the Canadian Armed Forces is killed overseas their body is taken from Trenton Ontario (military base) to Toronto for the required autopsy.
The fallen soldier is given a military/police escort along highway 401 (main east-west highway).At every bridge along the way people young and old/emergency personel salute ,wave a flag, or applaud as the hearse drives by.
That section of the 401 was recently named the Highway of Heros