The Heart Behind The Hero - You Only Know Him Now
Choose to think of him as a hero in death and I will tell you that he was a hero in life.
Jon McDuffie
We provide a faceless, nameless service to a community that rarely knows how much they need us. We are a myriad of thousands, each with our own personalities, families and troubles. A band of anonymous heroes that subordinates ego and self-interest to serve a populace that only knows that we will be there when they call. We get paid for what we are able to do, on the occasions when we are called to do it.
This week, one of us got a name, a face, a rank, a family … a life beyond a badge. His life is now recognized, only because it was sacrificed. He gave his life defending the property of a person he did not know, in a City that did not know him.
His name is Joseph Dupee.
I knew him before you and will remember him long after his name wanes in your short-term memory.
Ten mornings a month, Joe rose before the sun, kissed his sleeping family goodbye, and made the drive to his second home. He exercised, he trained himself and his crew, he laughed, he sulked, and he handled tedious projects. He read his Bible and spoke about it with others. He shared his opinions at the kitchen table with his brothers and sisters who drank thousands of cups of bad coffee with him, all the while attempting to solve the problems of the world. And then he would wait--for the calls where he sometimes worked harder than you can imagine.
Some of his work days were spent waiting. Some days his City did not need him as much as other days, but still, he waited. If you needed Joe for small things--a broken water pipe, a child locked in a car, a pot of beans that cooked just a bit too long--he responded to your call. Other times, when you needed him for life threatening emergencies--to rescue you from natural and man made disasters, from fire, from accidents, from illness, from yourselves--he responded to your call. You never doubted that Joe would be there for you. You never knew his name and he never asked you to justify your need. He served you because he wanted to help, and he loved to help you. You could have stopped giving him pay raises, repairing his station, hiring more firefighters, and he would still be waiting to answer your call.
Joe loved his family, his God, and his country. He was an opinionated prankster who loved to talk, could not cook, and drove too fast behind the wheel of a fire engine. He was a good fire ground officer who worked aggressively at incidents and diligently at his post. He was on my platoon for three years--he will be my brother always. But you did not know him then. You only know him now.
Choose to think of him as a hero in death and I will tell you that he was a hero in life. Use Joe's memory for sadness, and I will use it to comfort his family and my brothers and sisters that must continue to wait. Continue pouring out sympathy until it becomes a faint trickle and I will still be here waiting for the next call.
I provide a faceless, nameless service to a community that rarely knows how much they need me. If I am called from a sound sleep to sacrifice my life attempting to save the life or property of someone I do not know, I will do so without regret.
Joe did it. Why wouldn't I?
Jon McDuffie
Firefighter
Los Angeles City Fire Department
Los Angeles, California
Written in loving memory of Joseph Charles Dupee, who died in the line of duty on March 8, 1998 while serving with the Los Angeles City Fire Department.
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