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LESS THEY BE FORGOTTEN
This site is dedicated to all Sioux City firefighters who have lost their lives in the the line of duty, paying the ultimate price to protect the citizens they served.
A wall swaying in the flame and smoke—a warning cry— a crash—and two firemen had gone to join that departed Host—the boys who did not go back with the hose wagons. It looked to your average citizen like a lazy life, did Ryan’s and Lawn's—sitting around the firehouse talking tournament or playing cards or reading stories or spinning yarns—for your average citizen has a day’s work cut out for every working day in the year—only, to be sure, it is not part of your average citizen’s job to face death on call. But your average citizen does not stop to think of it in just that light—until something happens like that, which happened to Ryan and Lawton. Ryan and Lawton always were on their jobs—night and day. When they slept in their rude quarters at the station, it was with one eye and one ear open, so that your average citizen, if you please, might slumber the more soundly In his own home, secure in the knowledge that someone was on guard over his property and even his life and the lives of those who mcan so much to him. It was while your average citizen so slept that Ryan and Lawton hopped from their restless cots into their ever waiting clothes in answer to the harsh summons of the alarm bell and, to the music of the clanging gong and the siren whistle, slid through the darkness to their last job. The glare in the sky made them eager for the fray. The crackle of’ the flames simply stirred them to battle. No thought of personal safety obtruded itself upon a consuming desire to give aid to others who were in desperate need of it. Ryan and Lawton sprang to their task with all the vigor and courage of their young manhood. Three hours later their lifeless bodies were lifted from the ruins by sorrowing comrades. Ryan and Lawton drew from the city of Sioux City $70 a month. Ryan was single, but Lawton was doing his best to support a wife and child on that munificent sum—a feat that might tax even the ingenuity of your average citizen—to say nothing of the well known gentleman who from a point well outside the fire lines invariably denounces the firemen for making such a poor job of it. All honor to the two lads who gave up their lives in the performance of their duty, and may their sacrifice at least serve to hasten the day when this city of average citizens will see fit to do its own duty by its other Ryans and Lawtons in the way of paying them living wages.
Two fire trucks speeding to a minor blaze collided with shattering force at a busy downtown intersection Friday killing a fire captain and injuring eight persons—seven of them firemen. Dead was Capt. Valois Linden, 40, commanding officer of engine company No. 4. Three of the injured firemen were reported in critical condition.
"THE MONUMENT" I NEVER DREAMED IT WOULD BE ME " IN THE LINE OF
DUTY" I HEAR THEM SAY THE BADGE NO LONGER ON MY CHEST I NEVER DREAMED IT WOULD BE ME OBITUARIES George J. Ryan1986 photo Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, with the Rev. Dan Greving officiating. Burial will be in St. Joseph Cemetery, Salix, Iowa. Visitation will be 1 to 9 p.m. today, with the family present 5:30 to 8 p.m. and a parish vigil service at 7 p.m., at Larkin Morningside Funeral Home. Mr. Ryan was born Aug. 6, 1921, in Salix, the son of Stephen and Mary (Sullivan) Ryan. He was raised in Salix and graduated from St. Joseph School in Salix. He served in the U.S. Army with the 83rd Infantry Division in England, France and Germany. He was injured in the Battle of the Bulge and received the Purple Heart Medal in 1944. He married Patricia Small on April 30, 1946, in Salix. He joined the Sioux City Fire Department in 1947 and retired as a captain in December 1979, with 32 years of service. He was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Survivors include his wife; a daughter and her husband, Diana and Bill Heinemann of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; a son and his wife, Randy and Kelly of Sioux City; four grandchildren, Dan and Chris Lamb and Neely and Shay Ryan; two stepgrandchildren, Eric Heinemann and Liddie Krebs; a great-grandchild; and a sister, Nora Madsen of Seattle, Wash. He was preceded in death by his parents; five brothers, Ed, John, Ray, Paul and Al; and two sisters, Margaret Harrington and Helen Schultz. Pallbearers will be Dan and Chris Lamb, Neely and Shay Ryan, Gene Schultz and Terry Small. A memorial has been established in his name.
Last updated: 10/28/98 |
George Joseph Ryan, 77, of Sioux
City died of cancer Sunday, Oct. 25, 1998, at a Sioux City hospital. 