FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — It was a somber morning at Juniper Hill Park in Frankfort Wednesday.
Ten new names were unveiled on the Kentucky Fallen Firefighter Memorial.
"We want everyone to go home every day but it doesn't happen," Kentucky Firefighter's Association President Rick Bobo said. "Sometimes it just doesn't happen."
All ten firefighters died in the line of duty. All ten had their names etched into granite:
- Peter Cooper, Owensboro Fire Department
- Jerry Ferrell, Monticello Fire Department
- T. Churchill "Church" Guthrie, Owensboro Fire Department
- Milt Nelson, Prestonsburg Fire Department
- David Pawley, Louisville Fire Department
- Ernest Rudder, Bush Fire Department
- Mark Stewart, Dow Corning Fire Brigade
- John Thornberry, Owensboro Fire Department
- James "Urey" Westerfield, Owensboro Fire Department
- Joseph Wright, Nichols Fire Department
Five of the 10 firefighters memorialized died in the early 1900s. Their names were added to the wall when extensive research revealed they were never memorialized.
"That's huge for us to be able to find these ones that were never honored for their service and be able to add them as well," Bobo said.
The other five died within the past year.
"It's humbling," Mark Rudder, whose father, Ernest, died in the line of duty in September 2021, said. "He was never a man who would want to be the center of the spotlight but it's humbling for our family."
"One of the best things we can do is bring the families to Frankfort and etch their names in stone here in Frankfort so everyone can see and remember them forever," Bobo said.
Unfortunately, the memorial needs to be expanded. Anyone interested in donating to the renovation can contact the Kentucky Fire Commission.
