The United States Official National EMS Memorial Service
In the pre-dawn hours on July 29, 2016, flight nurse Deborah Kroon, along with flight paramedic Michelle Tarwater and pilot Larry Mills, were aboard a Cal-Ore Life Flight fixed wing aircraft transporting a patient when it crashed near the Arcata Airport, leaving no survivors.
Deborah will always be remembered for her smile, laughter, and sense of humor. Her reassuring words to her patients were a comfort to many.
Captain Yuji Irie, of American Medflight in Elko, Nevada, died November 18, 2016, while working as an EMS pilot, transporting a critically ill patient on an American Medflight aircraft when it crashed killing four people.
Yuji was a Japanese immigrant to the United States. He had become a skilled and well-respected pilot, flying for companies from Las Vegas to the Mariana Islands in the South Pacific.
He planned to finish out his career flying with American Medflight because he loved helping people who were in need of critical care transport.
Yuji dreamed of building his own airplane and flying it across the Pacific to Japan. He was able to build his airplane. It sits in his son’s garage in Las Vegas.
Chad Hammond, 29, of Haynes Life Flight of Montgomery, Alabama, died in the early morning hours of March 26, 2016.
The Haynes Life Flight 2 helicopter crashed while in route to Montgomery, Alabama. Chad, serving as pilot, flight paramedic Jason Snipes, flight nurse Stacey Cernadas, along with the patient, all perished in the crash.
In 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration recognized Chad with inclusion in the FAA Airman Certification Database. This certification is for pilots who have met or exceeded the high educational, licensing, and medical standards established by the FAA.
His dream to become a Life Flight pilot became a reality in October 2015. He had also been a Certified Flight Instructor for Cloud 9 Helicopters.
Paramedic Raymond Davis, 60, of Lubbock County District EMS, died September 18, 2003, while working a 24-hour shift as a First Response Medic.
After having already responded to five emergencies during his shift, Davis’ colleagues were unable to reach him during a status check. After numerous attempts to reach Davis, supervisors were given his last known GPS location.
When help arrived on the scene, Davis was found deceased. Davis was a long-time paramedic who cares deeply for his patients and co-workers in Lubbock. He also worked as a volunteer paramedic for the Shallow Water EMS service for several years.
Larry Fuller, 55, of Hunter Ambulance, Inc., died April 20, 2016. Fuller and his partner were dispatched to transport a patient to another healthcare facility.
Fuller was driving. The vehicle left the highway and struck an object. Fuller was killed instantly. He had been with Hunter for three years.
He quickly rose through the ranks at the beginning his career as an EMT, sharing his knowledge as a field trainer and recently being promoted to Turnout Coordinator.
Fuller chose EMS following many careers outside of healthcare. Once he discovered his passion for caring for others, he devoted the last years of his life to perfecting his EMT skills and feeding his desire to be the best field provider for people in need of medical care.
Fuller strove to do his job with the utmost integrity. Fuller will be remembered for his kindness, compassion, and professionalism. His former colleagues continue to hold his memory in the highest regard.
Former Chief E. Scott Danielson, 49, of Lakeland Volunteer Emergency Squad in New Jersey, died January 16, 2016.
Danielson, a 35-year member of Lakeland Emergency Squad, died shortly after answering an emergency call of a motor vehicle accident involving his daughter.
He was able to help treat his daughter and the occupant of another vehicle. He arrived at the hospital with his daughter, and it was there he collapsed from a heart attack.
He was quickly stabilized and then flown to Morristown Medical Center where he was pronounced dead four hours later.
He was known for having a passion for community service and was well as for his involvement in public safety agencies in Sussex and Warren Counties in New Jersey. He started working EMS at the age of 14 in the role of a cadet, and eventually became the squad’s chief.
Danielson served as an Emergency Services Dispatcher with Morris County, the New Jersey State Police, and the Warren County Communications Department where he was recently a division manager and a member of the County Hazardous Materials Team.
In Sussex County, he served as the Office of Emergency Management 13 Coordinator for Andover Borough. He was a past member of the Andover Borough Fire Company and was serving his third term on the borough council. In recent years, he was known for his tireless efforts in securing more than a $100,000 in federal grants to purchase new fire equipment and new ambulances for the Lakeland Rescue Squad.
News reports noted his focus on the greater good. Danielson was an expert in the fields of police, fire, and EMS. His greatest passion was helping others.
Paramedic Sandra Cline, 45, of Mercy Health LifeStar Ambulance in Ohio, died September 23, 2016.
Cline was the driver of an ambulance transporting a patient to an extended care facility on September 22, 2016. En route to the facility, the ambulance was hit by another vehicle that failed to stop at a stop sign.
She was airlifted to Mercy St. Vincent trauma center but ultimately succumbed to her injuries on September 23, 2016.
Cline was a paramedic for 25 years with Mercy Health LifeStar, and was known to enjoy the outdoors and time spent with her family.
Flight nurse Stacy Cernadas died in a medical helicopter crash March 26, 2016, along with pilot Chad Hammond, 29, flight medic Jason Snipes, 34, and patient Zach Strickland.
The chopper crashed in the predawn hours of that Saturday in Goodman, about 80 miles south of Montgomery, after picking up Strickland from the scene of a highway crash. The aircraft was found in a heavily wooded and marshy area. The helicopter had been called after a motorist struck a ditch and a utility pole in a one-car accident around 11 p.m. Friday, March 25.
The helicopter was reported missing at 12:17 a.m. Saturday, March 26, and the wreckage was later discovered about a half-mile from the scene of the vehicle crash.
Cernadas was trained as a firefighter, paramedic, and registered nurse. She embodied all aspects of EMS in her community. Cernadas had been a flight nurse since September 2015.
Born in Huntsville but raised in Georgia, she was also a trauma nurse in Montgomery and a former flight attendant for a major airline traveling internationally.
“Stacey had a larger than life personality and had many, many friends all around the U.S.,” her father said at the time. “I can tell you that while we are extremely saddened by today’s events, we are immensely proud of Stacey. She loved more than anything being a flight nurse and helping those in critical need.”
Hannah Callahan, 50, died December 3, 1954, in the line of duty as a Kings County Hospital Ambulance Attendant.
Callahan was shot after an emotionally disturbed man grabbed the firearm of an escorting police officer. The man shot and killed both Callahan and the police officer. He was then shot to death by another officer in response.
Unfortunately, only nearly-unreadable microfilm of the articles written about the event surrounding Callahan’s death remain. A headline revealed, “2nd Patrolman Fells Patient Trying to Escape Ambulance.”
Clarence W. Barrow, 27, of Orange, New Jersey, an Ambulance Surgeon at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, New York, was killed while on duty November 27, 1905, when his ambulance was struck by a car at 6th Street and 5th Avenue, and he was thrown from the ambulance, striking his head, according to the New York Times.
“A ponderous sightseeing automobile struck the ambulance, which contained a woman patient, the driver, and a doctor,” the New York Times article reads in part. “The surgeon was thrown to the pavement and his skull fractured. He died within 10 minutes.” The New York Times released further articles the day of Barrow’s accident and death that told more of his life and his relationship
“A ponderous sightseeing automobile struck the ambulance, which contained a woman patient, the driver, and a doctor,” the New York Times article reads in part. “The surgeon was thrown to the pavement and his skull fractured. He died within 10 minutes.”
The New York Times released further articles the day of Barrow’s accident and death that told more of his life and his relationship with his community. “At Roosevelt Hospital it was said that Dr. Barrow was one of the most popular among the young physicians connected with the institution.”
Barrow was a 1901 graduate of Columbia University, and a 1905 graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
He started working with The Roosevelt Hospital July 1, 1905, and was scheduled to serve another year and eight months in their medical division.