At the FDIC International 2021 Opening Ceremony in Indianapolis this morning, FDIC Education Director Bobby Halton spoke on “God and Country” to a standing-room-only crowd:
“The American novelist and author Elizabeth Elliot once wrote, ‘There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.’
Pro Deo et Patria
“That is a very powerful thought. It forces us to query our very purpose. It makes us question,
What do we live for?
“Without par, it demands we consider, What exactly are we willing to die for? Where do we find meaning? What is the purpose of our lives?
“It is the question we ask this morning, and not one lacking significance for this gathering. For our work, our purpose, is much more complex and nuanced than many have suggested.
“Having such clarity of purpose was perhaps said best by Captain Ernest Evans, who was the commanding officer of the USS Johnson. Evans earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage and bravery during the battle of Sumar.
“In his fight talk, Captain Evans addressed his crew with the following words prior to their fatal deployment: ‘This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way. And anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now.’
“Likewise, this is the fire service. We intend go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off now. Like the crew of the USS Johnson, it is fitting and proper that we also gather today not just as a profession but as a community of brothers and sisters who have freely chosen to stay on board and fight, fight against nature, fight against the randomness of misfortune, fight against disease, and fight against fire.
“We are ever more aware that, just like the sailors aboard the USS Johnson, it is not just what we fight against but, more importantly, what we fight for: Human dignity, honor, life itself, and the preservation of the handiwork of our fellow citizens. We fight for the principles and fundamentals that make America the greatest example of free persons exercising their God-given natural rights.
“And so, this morning, let us reflect, albeit far too briefly, on the irrefutable fact that our lives, our work, our purpose are connected, intertwined in many direct and indirect ways.
“We understand that what motivates us to serve is critical for our success.
“As school children, most of us read Victor Frankel’s ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ The message is simple: People, healthy people, require purpose and, according to Frankel, helping others is the most rewarding. Our work, our profession often supplies much of that need.
“It has been said that the work we have chosen is a lowly one. We agree with Chief O’Hagan. It is sufficient, however, to motivate persons like us to heights of valor and even to the supreme sacrifice, should the need arise.
So, whom do we admire, whom do we respect?
“We lavish praise on people who parrot others’ words and reenact others’ lives on television, movies, or stage. We heap adulation on those who are skillful in sports. Many are wonderful people and excellent at what they do, and although famous, few are heroic, and fewer still are inspiring.
“Yet society elevates them over the troops who protect us, over the crews we do duty with, over the real heroes around us every day.
“It is not unusual for firefighters like us to hear things like, ‘I don’t know how you could do that’—‘that’ being our job. We usually just shrug it off, say something noncommittal like, ‘I just like helping people,’ or something funny like, ‘Firefighting