The 343

Ask any firefighter, and he will say
And the Brothers all agree;
We know that day, and it won't go away,
When we lost our 343.
Where were you when the Towers came down,
The cry will be heard through the years;
Where were you when the Twin Towers fell,
And we realized our worst fears.
The old man asked of the young boy he met,
The lad looked up and answered politely,
"My daddy's a fireman, and he died that day,
But I still say a prayer for him nightly."
The old man moved on, and he found a young girl,
And he asked the same question of her,
She answered so slow, "I don't think I know,
For you see, I wasn't born yet sir."

But ask any firefighter, and he will know,
The day, the time, and the year;
For those of us who fight smoke and fire
And have no time for fear.
We know that day, and it won't go away,
When we lost our 343.

So when you see a firetruck speeding by,
Manned by the men who fight the fight,
Or you hear a wailing siren, in the middle of the night,
It seems so far away, on some lonely thoroughfare,
Pause for just a moment, and think a silent prayer...

-William Mackle
FDNY Retired