    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 9, 1999]
    [Pages 2243-2244]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Memorial Service for Firefighters in Worcester,
    Massachusetts
    December 9, 1999

        Thank you. First, to the wonderful families of our six fallen
    heroes, who the Vice President and I had a chance to visit with before
    the beginning of this service; to their colleagues in the fire
    department, their friends in this wonderful community; to the thousands
    of men and women in uniform who have come here to join the
    mayor, the Governor, the Senators, the Members of Congress, the
    Bishop and members of the clergy; President
    Whitehead and members of the
    firefighters; especially to Chief Budd and
    Frank Raffa and all the grieving members of this
    fire department, too.
        I hope you can all sense how clearly we know, in spite of our talks,
    that words have a poor power to alleviate the pain you feel now. But as
    you look around this vast hall and know that there are thousands and
    thousands more standing outside and other places, we hope that by our
    collective presence we will speak louder than words in saying that your
    tragedy is ours, your men are ours, our whole country honors them and
    you. We grieve with you, and we will stay with you.
        More than two and a half centuries ago, Benjamin Franklin wrote an
    essay entitled ``Brave Men at Fires.'' He might have written it last
    week. This is what he said: ``Neither cold nor darkness will deter good
    people from hastening to the dreadful place to quench the flame. They do
    it not for the sake of reward or fame, but they have a reward in
    themselves, and they love one another.''
        Today we honor six brave men who found a reward in firefighting, who
    loved one another, six men who, in turn, richly rewarded this community.
    So they hastened to the dreadful place to save others. For them, there
    was no other way.
        In the book of Isaiah, God asks, ``Whom shall I send, and who will
    go for us?'' And Isaiah says, ``Here am I. Send me.''
        When the question again rang from the smoking skies last week, Paul
    Brotherton, Timothy Jackson, Jeremiah Lucey, Jay
    Lyons, Joseph McGuirk, and Thomas Spencer also
    answered with a single voice: Here am I. Send me.
        They were firefighters to the core, heroes already, as we have
    heard, to their friends and loved ones, not to mention the people they
    saved through the years. For all six, being a firefighter was more than
    a job; it was in their blood. So when they went into that building that
    night, they were following their dream to serve, to save lives, and to
    stick together.
        Like their fellow firefighters everywhere, they embodied the best of
    our Nation of commitment and community, of teamwork and trust, values at
    the core of our character; values reflected in the daily service not
    only of those we lost but in this awesome parade of men and women who
    have come from all over our country and from some countries beyond our
    borders to honor their comrades and console their families.
        Too often, we take them for granted, our firefighters. In the days
    ahead, I hope every American will find an occasion to thank those in
    their communities who stand ready every day to put their lives on the
    line when the alarm bell rings.
        In the Book of Kings, we find the wonderful story of the prophet
    Elijah, who climbs a mountain to seek the voice of God. A wind shatters
    rocks in pieces, but the Bible says, the Lord is not in the wind. Then,
    there's an earthquake and then a fire, but God is not in the earthquake
    or in the fire. But then, the Scripture says, ``after the fire, a still,
    small voice.'' It is

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    that still, small voice that spoke to those six good men, that moved
    their souls to service and sacrifice. The still, small voice that
    endures through the ages, that inspires the songs and words we have all
    shared today, that must now carry this group of grieving families
    through their grief to going on.
        Today we thank God for the lives our fallen firefighters lived. We
    hope their families can remember the good and happy times and bring some
    smiles through their tears. We commend their souls to God's eternal
    loving care, and we pray that His still, small voice will bring strength
    and healing to these families and to this wonderful community who loved
    them so much.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:50 p.m. at Worcester's Centrum Centre.
    In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Raymond V. Mariano of Worcester;
    Gov. Argeo Paul Cellucci of Massachusetts; Bishop of Worcester Daniel P.
    Reilly; Dennis L. Budd, chief, Worcester Fire Department; Frank Raffa,
    president, Worcester Fire Fighters Local 1009; and Alfred K. Whitehead,
    general president, International Association of Fire Fighters.