Superior Firefighters Locate Names of Fallen Heroes for Memorial

SUPERIOR - Every day, firefighters across the country risk their lives to save people, and in Superior, firefighters are doing everything they can to make sure the names of their fallen brothers are never forgotten."We feel like we need to go back and memorialize these guys and what they sacrificed for everybody else," said Superior Fire Captain David Johnson. Building a memorial is something the Superior Fire Department has been looking to do for more than ten years. It's taken a long time to become reality because the names of Superior's fallen heroes are a mystery. For a handful of Superior firefighters, the call over the speaker leads them to the last call of their lives. "We're in the business of preventing bad things, but every now and then something does happen and it hurts one of us or one of ours and it really means a lot," Capt. Johnson explained. Twenty-one years ago, a monument was placed in the Superior Government Center to remember Superior's fallen police officers, but there's been nothing built for the firefighters. The names of Superior's fallen heroes aren't listed in any history books, or within station documents."Very weird,” said Superior Mayor Bruce Hagen. “Very interesting in why that would not be there readily available." Capt. Johnson is a self-proclaimed history buff and says there's a reason why the names can't be easily found."Many years ago, industrial accidents were pretty common and it was common for the fire department to have bad things happen," he said. “It was a rougher-tougher life back then and they didn't make such a big deal out of it.” Johnson has spent thousands of hours digging through old newspaper articles to find the men who deserve to be recognized. "These fellas on the job who lost their lives, it changed everything for their families," Capt. Johnson said. So far, he has found the names of seven Superior firefighters who were killed in the line of duty. The fallen firefighters include Leo McCabe who died in 1926 after he was sideswiped by a street car, Joseph McGills who also died in 1926 after being run over by a nine-ton truck while answering a call. Years later in 1939, Charles Hughes fractured his skull and later died after a burning wall collapsed on his body, and Louis Sylvester died of a heart attack after responding to a call in 1949. The following year, Albert Delcourt also died of a heart attack while climbing up a latter. Capt. Johnson has also found the names of Charles Myers and Marshall Malvin who died while on duty. He has found no additional information on them. The department is asking for the community's help in telling the stories of the men who gave their lives in hopes to save others."There's a couple that we don't know enough about and we're looking for a little more information on those fellas," Capt. Johnson said. The future memorial will be placed across from the police memorial in the Superior Government Center atrium. The department is hoping to dedicate the new memorial on September 11, 2014. Anyone with additional information on Superior’s Fallen Firefighters can contact Capt. David Johnson at 715-394-0227 or johynsond2@ci.superior.wi.us.