Our thanks will never be enough

As the athletic exploits of superstars like Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods are ballyhooed as epic and revered as heroic by a nation starved for role models, people like Tim McKeown, 67, and Cameron Carter, 24, quietly serve their communities.

Both were emergency medical responders with ties to the Mat-Su Valley, and both gave their lives performing the truly selfless and heroic acts that receive little recognition. They also are among the 2008 class added to the National EMS Memorial in Roanoke, Va.

Carter, a former medic with the Butte Fire Department, was part of a Lifeguard Alaska helicopter crew in December when the chopper, transporting a patient from Cordova to Providence Alaska Medical Center, went down. McKeown, an emergency medical technician for the Mat-Su Borough, died of a heart attack Sept. 1, 2006, while responding to an emergency call at a Talkeetna area bed and breakfast. Also an EMT, McKeown’s wife, Virgie Hartley, responded with him that night.

Carter and McKeown weren’t media superstars, weren’t touted in headlines or on television. Yet, they, and those like them who genuinely strive to save others simply because it’s the noble thing to do, are the true heroes. They don’t make millions of dollars and don’t garner huge endorsement deals, but their legacy is strong. That legacy is the family that still has a father because first responders saved his life, the young children who may still have a mother following a traffic accident, and the professional, selfless way they serve us all when called.

That McKeown’s wife continues her work as an EMT in the Willow community is a testament we don’t have to look for ESPN highlights to find the heroes among us.

While saddened those like McKeown and Carter are no longer here, we’re proud of their selfless heroism and the example their stories continue to set. There are no words to appropriately express our gratitude for those who put safety of others above their own — police, firefighters, emergency medical responders and military — so we simply say the words they never hear enough: “Thank you.”