Representatives of Mississippi ground and air ambulance services and fire-rescue departments will link with a national EMS organization to honor four emergency medical caregivers from the state who died due to injury or illness incurred while helping patients. Participating agencies will hold a memorial service for the fallen caregivers at 3:00 pm, July 13 at the Mississippi Capitol, second floor Rotunda, 400 High Street in Jackson.
The event is part of a national annual recognition for EMTs, paramedics and other EMS workers who died from a work-related incident. Called the National EMS Moving Honors Procession, the program is provided by the non-profit National EMS Memorial Service.
Leaders of the program are driving a specially marked ambulance across the U.S. with 21 stops in 14 states where EMS personnel were lost to line-of-duty death in 2023 or earlier. The Moving Honors ambulance crew and numerous Mississippi EMS crews will drive ambulances and rescue trucks in a procession from Vicksburg on I-20 to the Capitol.
The four Mississippi EMS heroes to be honored are John Crow of Pascagoula who worked at Acadian Ambulance Service; Mack McCann of Hattiesburg, AAA Ambulance Service; Robbie Pearson, Ridgeland, Pafford EMS and Mary “Katie” Pipkins, Laurel, ASAP Ambulance Service. They are among 36 fallen U.S. EMS workers to be honored at the 2024 National EMS Memorial Service this year.
Family members and friends of the four will attend the service at the Capitol.
State Representative Lester “Bubba” Carpenter of Burnsville, a certified paramedic, will address the Jackson attendees. Rep. Carpenter has sponsored several bills to enhance the state’s emergency medical services system.
After the Jackson service, some of the Mississippi EMS crews will accompany the Moving Honors ambulance southward out of Jackson for variable distances. The Moving Honors team is scheduled to hold a memorial service in Summerdale, Alabama on July 14 and then continue to several other Atlantic coast states.
The Moving Honors tour began in Alaska and Hawaii and will end in Arlington, Virginia at a series of events called the National Weekend of Honor on July 19 and 20.
