Category: Honoree

Roger W. Ogburn, MD, 28, of Manhattan, New York City, New York, died in the line-of-duty July 24, 1927, when the ambulance he was aboard collided with a taxi.

According to the New York Times, Roger was thrown free from the ambulance that had overturned but crushed underneath. With the help of bystanders, they were able to get him out from under the ambulance. Residents that witnessed the crash had volunteered to donate blood.

Although his sister lived in NYC, the rest of his family had to be flown in from North Carolina, where he was from and where he was later laid to rest, to be by his side.

Roger graduated from the University of North Carolina and had graduated from Medical College at Cornell University the year before.

John Leddy, 19, of Long Island, died July 31, 1919, in the line-of-duty when his ambulance collided with a sidecar motorcycle at Court and Luquer Streets in Brooklyn, New York.

John was riding along with Ambulance Driver Michael O’Donnell and Ambulance Surgeon Smith when the ambulance swerved to avoid a tandem motorcycle.

The ambulance struck the curb and turned over. John was thrown under the ambulance along with both occupants of the motorcycle while the bike crashed into the overturned ambulance. John died of his injuries. Both occupants of the motorcycle suffered fractured skulls and were taken to Brooklyn Hospital. O’Donnell and Smith only sustained minor injuries in the crash.

Mrs. Charles Meyer, the wife of noted Brooklyn businessman Charles Meyer, died February 13, 1919, in the line-of-duty after her ambulance was struck by a trolley at the corner of Bergen Street and Rochester Avenues in Brooklyn.

Mrs. Meyer started working with St. Mary’s Hospital on October 22, 1918, as a volunteer for the Women’s Motor Corps of America as part of World War I support efforts.

Margaret Devere, 22, of New York City, New York, contracted a cold while in the line-of-duty leading to Spanish Influenza and pneumonia. She died four days later on October 24, 1918.

Margaret, a well-known British actress, volunteered as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross Motor Corps. She was born in England and served the city of New York while the men who usually volunteered for these duties were away to World War I.

Patrick ‘Paddy’ Travers, 39, a resident of Belview Hospital, died July 7, 1901, as a result of injuries sustained in the= line-of-duty when his ambulance crashed on the way to an emergency in October of 1883.

He spent the subsequent 15 years hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital. He was deemed the hospital’s “oldest patient.”

“From the time he sported his first pair of knickerbockers all he thought of was the ambulance which went in and out of the big gates (of Bellevue). When he grew to be fleet enough of the foot to follow the horses he would hop on to the ambulances and neither the drivers or doctors could rid of him until he saw a sick person in it. As he grew, it became his sole ambition to become an ambulance driver. He trained for the job by piloting through the East Side coal carts, undertakers wagons or any other vehicle on which he could get a chance to take hold of the reins. He made it a point to drive as many hurry calls as possible. Attempting to beat a fire truck to a call, his ambulance crashed into the fire vehicle. This collision caused him to have a leg injury and spinal injury which caused him to spend the rest of his years in the hospital he so faithfully served.” — according to a publication from 1901.

Tiffany Urresti of American Medflight in Elko, Nevada, was born February 2, 1987, to Jim and Debi Urresti. She died November 18, 2016, while working her dream job as a flight nurse, transporting a critically ill patient on an American Medflight aircraft when it crashed killing four people.

Urresti was an ER and flight nurse as well as a volunteer firefighter. She was well respected in all areas of service to the EMS and medical community. She had just begun her flight career two months prior after years of striving to achieve her dream job.

She is described as having a brilliant mind, never shying away from helping people in their time of critical need. Urresti was engaged to be married in May 2017 to her fiancé, Jim Foster, the man of her dreams and love of her life.

John Ernest “Skillet” Ulmschneider, 37, of California, MD, died after being shot while responding to a 911 call April 15, 2016, in Clinton, MD.

Born on February 24, 1979 in Baltimore, MD, he was the son of Cheryl Ulmschneider and the late James Ulmschneider. John is remembered as a caring person.

Colleagues remember him making peanut butter sandwiches for those suffering from low blood sugar and sitting with them while they calmed.It was said he enjoyed tools and fixing things as well as fixing people’s wounds.

In the early morning hours of July 29, 2016, the airplane flight paramedic Michelle Tarwater was on crashed near McKinnleyville, California.

Michelle, pilot Larry Mills, flight nurse Deborah Kroon, and a patient all perished. Tarwater “lived larger than life.” Her priorities were, “her work, her faith, and her family.”

She was a flight paramedic with Cal-Ore Life Flight in Brookings, Oregon, since 2011, fulfilling her life’s passion in EMS.

Her work ethic has been described as dedicated, committed, professional, caring, and humorous. In a letter written to her mother in 2011, Tarwater wrote, “I went out with my boots on. I’m doing what I love, and I’m okay with that.”

On June 23, 2016, Eric Speck and his crew responded to a medical call at the Dakota City Jail. Speck began not feeling well during the call but continued with patient care and returned to service.

After his shift, he went to the hospital where he remained until June 27, 2016, when he passed away due to cardiac arrest.

Speck was employed with the Omaha Tribal Rescue in Macy, NE, and was the Fire Captain with the Dakota City Fire Department for 15 years. His knowledge, dedication, and commitment will be missed by many.