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![[Kentucky EMS Connection]](../../images/logo2.gif){kind=logo}
May's National EMS Memorial Service will include 7 Kentuckians
By JOHN
HULTGREN
Kentucky EMS Connection
LOUISVILLE — The Seventh Annual National EMS Memorial Service, to be held this May in Virginia, will honor seven Kentucky EMS providers who died in the line of duty.
Those being honored are:
- Roxanna Lynn Aldridge, Caldwell County Rescue Squad, Princeton, Ky. Aldridge died Nov. 23, 1994 of a pulmonary embolism when responding to a run.
- Billy Dean Johnson, Lifeline Ambulance Service, Bypro, Ky. Johnson was killed in an ambulance accident Dec. 7, 1991 .
- Tom Long, Jr., USA MEDDAC, Fort Campbell, Ky. Long died October 8, 1998 while on-duty.
- James Everett Lowe, G&B Ambulance Service, Salyersville, Ky. Lowe was killed in an ambulance accident Sept. 14, 1992.
- Johnnie Vanderpool, G&B Ambulance Service, Salyersville, Ky. Vanderpool was killed in an ambulance accident Sept. 14, 1992.
- Rick William Vinzant, City of Louisville EMS, Louisville, Ky. Vinzant died Feb. 3, 1983 of a heart condition while treating a gunshot victim.
- Monroe Watkins, Mountain Ambulance Service, Campton, Ky. Watkins was killed in an ambulance accident June 22, 1991.
The application for an eighth EMS provider, John Compton, has been tabled until next year while attempts to locate family and gather documentation are made. Compton worked for Lifeline Ambulance Service in Bypro, Ky, and died of a heart condition Jan. 26, 1994 while driving an ambulance.
A ninth application made on behalf of Charles Slone Jr. was not approved by the National EMS Memorial Board. Slone died Feb. 19, 1995 in a motor vehicle crash in his private vehicle while on his way home from work at Ambulance Service of Laurel County.
Only one Kentucky honoree is currently in place on the National EMS Memorial's Tree of Life. Harold Allgood, an EMT who volunteered with the Mount Washington Volunteer Fire Department, was killed Nov. 15, 1993 while riding on the tailboard of a fire apparatus while responding to a motor vehicle crash. He was honored in 1997.
The effort to locate and add other Kentucky EMS providers to the Tree of Life was lead by Capt. Rockey Johnson and Technician Steve Gaffney of Jefferson County EMS. "I was shocked and upset when I learned only one person from Kentucky had ever been nominated and added to the memorial," Johnson said.
Jefferson County EMS has recently established a Memorial Service Committee, which plans to represent JCEMS at May's memorial service in Virginia. JCEMS also wants to establish an honor guard and work on a communication network. "At this time, if someone dies or is injured badly in Pikeville, Mayfield may not know it for a few days," Johnson said.
Johnson had to devote many hours finding documentation before he could submit all the nominations. "We got a total of nine nominations in from the state of Kentucky from one man, who contacted the office on his own, and pursued getting everyone from his state honored," said Thomas Schultz, a member of the national memorial's board of directors. "His name is Rockey Johnson, and he is the newest regional coordinator for the National EMS Memorial Service for the state of Kentucky."
The National EMS Memorial Service honors those emergency medical services personnel who have died in the line of duty, recognizing the ultimate sacrifice they have made for their fellow man. The first National EMS Memorial Service was held in 1993. It is now held annually during National EMS Week.
During the service a family member or agency representative is presented with a U.S. flag that has flown over the U.S. Capitol denoting the honoree's service to their country, a white rose representing their undying love, and a medallion signifying their eternal memory.
The 1999 Service will be conducted on May 29 at 7:00 p.m. (EDT) in Roanoke, Va.
For additional information, please see the following Internet sites:
- National EMS Memorial Service Web Site
- Kentucky EMS Memorial, a new section on the Kentucky EMS Connection that offers additional background information on the honorees.
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