Wildland Firefighter Memorial - Golden, CO, USA
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 39° 45.596 W 105° 12.898
13S E 481585 N 4401134
The Wildland Firefighter Association, in conjunction with Coors Banquet, raised funds for this memorial as part of the "Protect Our West" campaign. Read below for directions to visit this free to public memorial.
Waymark Code: WM10KP9
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 05/23/2019
Views: 2
The plaque reads:
In recognition of all
Wildland Firefighters
past, present and future.
Honoring the relationship
between
Coors Banquet and the
Wildland Firefighter
Foundation
Duty - Respect - Integrity
The sculpture was inspired by photos of Wildland Firefighter Douglas Michael Dunbar of the Prineville Hotshots who, along with 13 others, lost his life in the South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain west of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA. See Waymark WMDN9J Storm King 14 - Glenwood Springs, CO for more information. The memorial was unveiled on April 25, 2018, near the Visitor Center at the Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado, USA.
"‘It’s Him’: Mother Of Fallen Wildland Firefighter Helps Unveil Statue
A group that helps families of fallen firefighters dedicated a new statue in Golden this week.
The Wildland Firefighter’s Foundation and families of the fallen were at Coors Brewery on Wednesday to thank the brewery for getting on board with the mission.
In four years, Coors raised more than $1 million for the foundation by donating proceeds from cases of Coors Banquet. The MillerCoors program “Protect Our West” is expanding to Colorado this summer.
“Colorado is where we got our start. We came out of the ashes of Storm King in 1994,” said Burk Minor. “We’ve helped a lot of firefighters since then, but the tie for this, for Coors and Storm King, it couldn’t be a more perfect fit because this is where we got our start.”
On Wednesday, as a “thank you’ to MillerCoors, the WFF unveiled a stoic bronze statue of a firefighter that holds deep significance. Wednesday’s guest of honor took the stage with a photo of the statue in her hand, and then peeled it back to reveal a picture of her son.
“The statue as you can see is holding the tool and this (peels photo back) is a picture that hangs on my wall at home. It’s him. He’s in his Prineville hotshot uniform, and he is on the line. He’s working,” Sandy Dunbar said with a proud smile.
Doug Dunbar was 22 when he was killed in the Storm King Fire in Glenwood Springs. His mother has visited the site where he perished 14 times over the past 24 years. One for each of the firefighters who perished.
“As soon as I hit the hill, it’s all over. I see the crosses coming and then I just kind of lose it for a little while and re-create what was going on you know, in my mind,” said Dunbar. “And then I get up there and I sit at Doug’s cross for a while, think about him, talk to him. Check out all the little memorabilia that might be there.”
In the years following Doug’s death, the WFF not only helped Sandy and her family financially, it helped her emotionally.
“I was a single mom. I had the two teenage girls at home, and a little check would come or they’d pay for a flight or a room for me,” she said.
It grew into a support network and then an annual event called Family Fire Weekend.
“We call it a safe place. A place where we can all go because we have all been through the same thing,” Sandy said. “We don’t have to be embarrassed about talking about our feelings. It’s wonderful.”
For Sandy, the most important thing is that her son’s legacy and others, who have died while protecting their communities, are never forgotten.
“One of the biggest things that Glenwood Springs brought up when this first happened was never forget. They have never forgotten. Colorado has never forgotten. The fire service has never forgotten,” she said. “It’s just the legacy of the firefighters and what good people they are and they shouldn’t be forgotten and they’re not.”
Beginning this summer, for every case of Coors Banquet sold, MillerCoors will donate 25 cents to the foundation." (from https://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/04/25/wildland-firefighter-statue-golden/ )
For more information about the Coors Banquet "Protect Our West" campaign, visit https://www.millercoorsblog.com/news/coors-banquet-campaign-pays-tribute-to-wildland-firefighters/ and https://www.millercoors.com/News-Center/Latest-News/coors-banquet-continues-to-protect-our-west-in-2017 .
NOTE: To visit the memorial, go to 12th and Ford Street in Golden and head onto the Coors plant. At the gate, there is an intercom where you may ask for admittance to the memorial (which is in front of the Coors Visitor Center). There is no fee to visit the memorial, though parking is limited. The memorial is available the same hours as the visitor center. The tour of Coors is no longer free - there is now a $5 for Colorado residents and $10 for all others.