{"id":2940,"date":"2016-01-14T07:54:21","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T12:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=2940"},"modified":"2024-06-27T14:12:37","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T18:12:37","slug":"stories-one-funny-one-fatal-firemen-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/stories-one-funny-one-fatal-firemen-flags\/","title":{"rendered":"Stories \u2013 one funny, one fatal \u2013 of firemen and flags"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Flags<\/a>
Flags fly at Firemen’s Hall in Brooklyn, 1852 (New York Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Firefighters, like other Americans, love flags, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re always ready to rescue one. As an example, take the curious case of a banner that flew away a century ago.<\/p>\n

An American flag<\/a> outside the Grand Army of the Republic post in Springfield, Massachusetts, was blown off its mast by a strong windstorm and became, as a newspaper reported, \u201csecurely tangled in the branches of a large elm tree in front of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Firemen's<\/a>
Firemen’s Monument at Greenwood Cemetery (New York Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GAR janitor thought the solution was simple: Contact local firemen and ask them to climb one of their ladders to return Old Glory to its flagpole<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the firemen balked. According to The Springfield Union newspaper, \u201cThey pointed out that for some time it has been quite the proper thing for anybody owning a pet cat to call in the Fire Department whenever pussy took a little trip to the top of a tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulling down hissing, scratching cats from \u201cprecarious perches\u201d had grown quite old to the firefighters. So \u201cthey shook their heads, held up their right hands solemnly and told the janitor that what he needed was a steeple-jack, or a very small boy who liked to climb, or a monkey \u2013 or anybody else but a fireman whose sole desire is to be of service \u2013 to mankind, not in rescuing flags or cats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chief<\/a>
Chief Howard at a fire. (New York Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four days later, Mother Nature accomplished what the firemen refused to do. The Springfield Daily News told readers that the \u201cemblem\u201d which had \u201creposed\u201d for a week in the tree was delivered to the ground by an \u201c82-mile-an-hour gale\u2026that blew down\u2026the grand old flag that had graced the flagpole\u201d of the GAR building. So the wind, which had removed the Stars and Stripes, returned it to its flagstaff.<\/p>\n

The connection between firemen and flags is normally far more cordial \u2013 and sometimes very touching, as when one of them dies while battling a blaze. That\u2019s what occurred in New York City in 1858 when Engine Company 15 raced to a blaze. Among the first-responders was Henry M. Luke, 30, who \u201cperished at the fire,\u201d as reported by The New York Times.<\/p>\n

\"Today's<\/a>
Today’s FDNY flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the day of Luke\u2019s funeral, Fire Chief Harry Howard\u2019s \u201chouse was festooned in mourning,\u201d the Times wrote, and Luke\u2019s open coffin rested on the street outside so that friends, family and fellow firemen could pass by and pay their respects. As the hearse took Luke away, the newspaper continued, it was followed by his fellow firemen, \u201ccarrying the flag of the Fire Department<\/a>. There was no other flag and no music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Modern<\/a>
Modern NYC Fire Department logo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luke was interred near the Firemen\u2019s Monument in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. He became the 11th firefighter to be laid to rest at the site, which had been established just ten years earlier.<\/p>\n

Less than a year later, the Fire Department unveiled its new fireman\u2019s flag<\/a>. The Times recorded that the banner was made from \u201cblue silk, with red, yellow and blue trimmings.\u201d On one side was an image of Charity, \u201creceiving the thanks of the widows and orphans; in the background Neptune stands\u2026and the Genius of Protection [rises] out of the clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other side of the fire department flag<\/a> displayed the Firemen\u2019s Monument at Greenwood Cemetery, where Luke had been placed just ten months earlier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Firefighters, like other Americans, love flags, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re always ready to rescue one. As an example, take the curious case of a banner that flew away a century ago. An American flag outside the Grand Army of the Republic post in Springfield, Massachusetts, was blown off its mast by a strong windstorm… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,329,275,142,143],"class_list":["post-2940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flag","tag-fire","tag-fire-department","tag-firefighter","tag-fireman"],"yoast_head":"\nStories \u2013 one funny, one fatal \u2013 of firemen and flags<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The connection between firemen and flags is normally far more cordial \u2013 and sometimes very touching, as when one of them dies while battling a blaze.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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