Growing up he liked to play stickball and he graduated from Aviaton High School. He had a wife named Sue. He also had three sons, Matt Jr., Jesse and Tommy. He liked to take his boys fishing and would always sneak out of the house to go fishing when his wife needed him to do things around the house. He earned accolades from the fire department in 1999 when he rescued two infants trapped on the ninth floor of a raging inferno. He was said to be kind, strong, compassionate and soft spoken.
What meant the most to me when reading about Matthew was the fact that like many other people who lost their lives that day, he had a life outside of his work. He had children and a wife that he left behind when he was fighting for his country. Being a firefighter means risking your life to save others and I think he is an American hero because he did this everyday knowing he could be killed. Many times I think about how people can go to work everyday risking their lives for their country, and I wonder if I had the courage and bravery to do this same thing. Matthew was very inspirational to me because he seemed like a stand up guy who liked to go fishing and explore the outdoors just like I do. Also his bravery to be a firefighter really inspires me and when there comes a time that I have to choose to be brave, instead of shying away because I am scared, I will actually take charge and fight for whats right.
Its so sad when they have a family they left behind. He is the true hero for being a firefighter.
ReplyDeleteThis man is no doubt an American hero although his death was tragic i think that his family must have been so proud of him for being so brave to help others in need not only on 9/11 but everyday at work.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy learning about all of these firefighters and i'm just at a loss for words when their bravery is described. One of my favorite movies ever is Ladder 49 and that movie talks about how everyone runs away from fires, but fire fighters run right into them. And every time I thin about what that means I just question whether I would ever be able to perform that profession and save peoples lives at a risk to my own.
ReplyDeleteYour position of an American hero could not be more accurate. He, along with every other firefighter, police officer, and soldier, risk everything that that hold dear in order to keep ordinary citizens like us safe. We should stop and realize that these people have lives outside their occupation. They have wives and husbands, daughters and sons, just like us and they are still willing to put our needs before their wants. We should be grateful to have more heroes like Matthew Barnes.
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