How apt a characterization to describe the common trait of today's award recipients. They serve on different forces, they work in separate communities, and they confronted different circumstances. The acts of these brave servants of the people embody the meaning of valor. Valor is strength of mind and spirit, which enables a person to encounter danger with firmness. Valor is the subrogation of self to the needs of others.
Valor is the quiet conviction that upholds noble causes.
We live today in a time of unprecedented challenge and opportunity. Advances in technology are broadening the minds of men, developing inroads against disease, and creating seemingly never ending economic growth. Our knowledge is growing with such rapidity that we hardly have time to consider the ethical and moral dilemmas presented by one discovery, before a new discovery renders it obsolete. Yet character and values transcend the march of technology or the expansion of knowledge. No innovative discovery or cultural trend will replace a courageous fire fighter battling the very forces of nature or man made incineration to save lives or property.