A ceremony in Coralville Sunday paid tribute to firefighters all across the state. Ninety-three names were added to the firefighter memorial wall, including that of a Des Moines firefighter who died in the line of duty. Mary McAtee’s dad was a firefighter, and his name is on the memorial. She says, “It really kind of shows you that you’re not alone in your heartache… but that everyone is going through the same thing.”
Tears welled up in Glen Beauchamp eyes after seeing his dad’s name on the wall for the first time. “It hit me pretty hard really — realizing that we just lost him last August. So seeing his name on the wall was pretty hard,” Beauchamp said.
Organizers released one balloon for each name added to the wall this year. The memorial wall now has more than 16-hundred names carved into it.