TOLEDO, Ohio — Every year, Toledo Fire and Rescue Department honor the 58 firefighters who died while fighting fires in the city and the six who were killed in military service during World War II.
But today, the names of two firefighters who died decades ago were added to Toledo Fire and Rescue Memorial.
Three bell rings sounded Monday for Pvt. Neal Millsaps and Lt. Charles Morrissey.
Millsaps died in Febrauary of 1975 after suffering a heart attack while working at station 24 and Morrissey contracted pneumonia as a result of fighting a fire in November of 1943 and died five months after.
"He contracted pneumonia, and then he ended up getting lung cancer and he never did go back to work," Kelley DeMaria, who never met her grandfather Morrissey, said.
Morrissey' daughter, Audrey Eberle, always believed her father should have been considered to have died while in the line of duty and wrote letters to the department for decades.
For her, seeing her father's name on the memorial is a relief.
"Oh, it was on my bucket list forever. And now I'm happy, very happy," she said.
Toledo Fire Chief Brian Byrd said his staff and the volunteers at the Toledo Fire Museum are going through medical records to make sure there no other firemen whose cause of death was a direct result of their service.
Although it took decades for them to properly honor these two men, the chief said he is pleased to know their sacrifice will now never be forgotten.
"Of course I have a biased opinion, but anyone who gives their life serving, should be honored," he said.