Diboll Man Among 13 Texas Firemen Honored at National Memorial

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, based in Emmitsburg, Maryland, recently held its annual Memorial Weekend. Each year, the Foundation sponsors this national event to pay tribute to all firefighters who died in the line of duty during the previous year, as well as honor those from past years.

The mission of the Foundation is to honor America's fallen fire heroes; support their families, colleagues, and organizations; and work to reduce preventable firefighter death and injury.

This year’s national tribute, held on the weekend of May 4, honored 89 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2023 and 137 firefighters who died in previous years. 13 firefighters, including one from the Pineywoods, were from Texas.

Joe Parish

For 45 years, Joe Parish served his community as a firefighter/EMT for the Diboll Volunteer Fire Department.

Last year, he was responding to a call for mutual aid from the Fuller Springs Volunteer Fire Department when his vehicle left the roadway and crashed. He was transported to the hospital and underwent surgery. He passed away on September 1 due to the injuries he sustained in the accident.

In their online tribute, The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation wrote the following:

Joe was the type of man who would actually give you the shirt off his back. Once, while responding to an emergency, Joe used his own shirt as a tourniquet to save a man’s life. But Joe didn’t stop there. When the man Joe saved ended up losing his leg, Joe also built a ramp onto the man’s house to accommodate a wheelchair. So, we can say that Joe is the type of man who will give you the shirt off his own back, save your life, and be by your side to lend a hand as you recover.

Here are the 13 Texas firefighters honored at the 2024 event.