Keenan Reflects on Sacrifice at Salem Firemen’s
SALEM - Representative John Keenan offered the following in reaction to the observance of the Salem Firemen's Relief Association annual memorial service and the dedication of the James Koen Building at the fire house on Essex Street in Salem this morning. Representative John Keenan's Reaction to the Salem Firemen's
Relief Association Today is a day of both solemnity and celebration. We are here to remember those firefighters who have passed on - some in the line, others not. But, no matter how or when or why they departed us, they are each and every one of them a hero of Salem, of Massachusetts, and of this country. I am sincerely humbled to be able to speak with you on this very special occasion, as we remember them. We are also gathered in celebration, as we dedicate the James Koen Fire Station, to the memory of that outstanding public servant James Koen. Mr. Koen was both a leader and a brother to the men and women of the Salem Fire Department. There is perhaps no other tribute more fitting to his memory than the dedication of the firehouse that protects the city and neighborhoods that Mr. Koen spent his life protecting, too. I knew Jim mostly through his children. Kevin and I played football together for a couple of years at Salem High School, and Annie was in my wife Kara's class. And Jamie and Patti, who like their brother Kevin, are now part of the Salem Fire Department themselves. They are truly a family of firefighters. They, like their father before them, and like their brothers and sisters in uniform, represent the ideal of selfless dedication. I am honored to be with you today as we pay tribute to James Koen, and to Captain Hudson, and to all of the firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the public safety. Teddy Roosevelt once observed, "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly…who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause." James Koen was in the arena. And Salem is a remarkably
better place because of it.
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