In Memoriam

Foreword

This section is a tribute to the more than 5,000 men and women who have served our nation as smokejumpers since aerial delivery of fire fighters began with experimental jumps in 1939.

These are the accounts of the lives and deaths of the 30 smokejumpers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Read their stories. You'll find they were no more heroic or foolhardy than those of us who have also worked the "best job in the world" and were lucky enough to have survived.

These jumpers were simply doing their jobs when their luck ran out. If you're a jumper, you'll identify with many of them.

The dates of their deaths follow the jumpers' names. They are listed in the order in which they died, with one exception: Dale Swedeen broke his back, then lived as a quadriplegic for 31 years. The date next to his name is the day he jumped his first and last fire; the date of his death is in the text.

• The KIA's In Brief page offers a table of the date, base and cause of death for each jumper.

• At Their Stories, read the in-depth story of each jumper.

• And at the Donors page find names of the individuals, groups and organizations who have donated in the name and memory of those smokejumpers killed in action.

You'll note we have little or no information on some jumpers. We're continuing to research the lives of all those whose names appear in this booklet and will update these pages from time to time as we learn more.

If you knew any of these men, please send us your memories of them or leads as to where additional information may be found. My address is 9232 N. Clarkview Place, Hayden Lake, ID 83835 or, if you have e-mail, gidlund1@earthlink.net.