Captain Brian Hughes Memorialized

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Transcript

00:00:04:23 - 00:00:22:12 Director Chuck Sams Introduction spoken in Umatilla.. Good afternoon, my friends and relatives. Today's ceremony has a long standing National Park Service tradition to recognize and memorialize employees who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and service the National Park Service and its nation.

00:00:23:12 - 00:00:36:09 Director Chuck Sams What's most important about these opportunities and these memorials is to keep people's memories alive Captain Brian Hughes gave the ultimate sacrifice. The least we can do is continue to call out his name

00:00:36:19 - 00:00:38:13 Director Chuck Sams and remember his sacrifice.

00:00:40:13 - 00:00:43:06 Deputy Director Mike Reynolds In 2015, Brian became Captain on the Arrowhead

00:00:43:06 - 00:00:44:18 Deputy Director Mike Reynolds Interagency Hotshot Crew.

00:00:45:18 - 00:00:54:01 Deputy Director Mike Reynolds Brian was a trusted leader and a mentor who, led by example, inspiring others to train hard and develop their skills. His crew looked up to him as a friend and a brother.

00:00:56:15 - 00:01:01:09 Director Chuck Sams late Lakota elder, Blackhawk, once said “death always comes out of season.”

00:01:02:14 - 00:01:07:01 Director Chuck Sams Brian died a hero, placing his life and well-being on the line while protecting his crew.

00:01:07:13 - 00:01:11:14 Director Chuck Sams The motto The Arrowhead Hotshots is “By endurance. We conquer.”

00:01:12:03 - 00:01:18:08 Director Chuck Sams We will continue to endure. We will continue to remember this name. And we will continue to conquer those forest fires.

00:01:18:08 - 00:01:21:07 Director Chuck Sams Most dangerous to both flora, fauna and human life.

Duration:

2 minutes, 1 second

On July 29, 2018, Captain Brian Hughes, a member of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshot Crew, was killed while fighting the Ferguson Fire in the Sierra National Forest. Five years later, on July 21, 2023, Brian’s name was memorialized on the National Park Service’s Memorial Board located on the NPS Director’s Hallway in the Udall Main Interior Building. Names of National Park Service employees killed in the line of duty are represented dating back to 1908, before the NPS was officially established.