Daughter Of Australian Firefighter Wearing His Helmet During His Funeral Will Move You To Tears
Andrew ODwyer a 16-year veteran of the New South Wales NSW Rural Fire Service was battling the bushfires in Sydney on December 19. The truck they were in rolled and hit a tree while fighting a bushfire at Buxton south of Sydney. The brigades deputy captain Geoffrey Keaton who was a father of a one-year-old also died in the tragic crash. During ODwyers funeral service little Charlotte donned his helmet and accepted a RFS service medal which he had...Read More
Charlotte O'Dwyer is too young to process the loss of her father, who died battling the Australia fires. The 19-month old innocently wore her father's helmet on her head and the picture is breaking a million hearts across the globe.
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Andrew O'Dwyer, a 16-year veteran of the New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service, was battling the bushfires in Sydney on December 19 when the truck they were in, rolled and hit a tree while fighting a bushfire at Buxton, south of Sydney.
The young daughter of RFS volunteer Andrew O'Dwyer wears her father's helmet and service medal at his funeral. O'Dwyer and his fellow volunteer were killed when the truck they were travelling in rolled off the road in the town of Buxton, south-west of Sydney. #9News pic.twitter.com/nvUsfKqe6k
¡ª Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) January 7, 2020
The brigade's deputy captain, Geoffrey Keaton, who was a father of a one-year-old, also died in the tragic crash and was remembered at a separate service,
The daughter of volunteer firefighter Andrew O¡¯Dwyer at his funeral today. Heartbreaking. ?: @DeanLewinsPhoto pic.twitter.com/iU58HmtN3o
¡ª Tim Rose (@tp_rose) January 7, 2020
During O'Dwyer's funeral service, little Charlotte donned his helmet and accepted a RFS service medal which he had been posthumously awarded to her dad.
"Baby Charlotte, you need to know - your dad was a special man, a selfless man, and only left because he is a hero," an emotional Mr Fitzsimmons told the child, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Charlotte daughter of a firefighter Andrew O'Dwyer who died in australia during the forest fires, she wore his helmet and service medal at his funeral . pic.twitter.com/WxK54QT4RV
¡ª i'm not important person until i become (@nadazidan74) January 8, 2020
Charlotte wore the helmet and medal for the remainder of the service, leading to many teary-eyed smiles. According to reports, Charlotte's mother never in her wildest dreams, imagined bringing up her daughter all alone, but the bushfires changed everything.
The Mail Online quoted the mother as saying, "Our kids have got all these aunties and uncles now and that gives me a lot of comfort. They can hear the stories about their dads and how mighty they have been."
Although she won't have her husband by her side, Mrs O'Dwyer said she knows she'll always have some of him in Charlotte.
According to CNN, the NSW Rural Fire Service asked for donations to a bank account created for O'Dwyer and Keaton's families. The funds will be evenly split between their spouses.
Watch the powerful moment members of the Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade performed a Haka at the funeral of firefighter Andrew O'Dwyer. https://t.co/Oa26Cw8Tqa pic.twitter.com/5QYh8lekRP
¡ª news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) January 7, 2020
After the service, Australian PM Scott Morrison and his wife hugged members of the family. Mr O'Dwyer, 36, was remembered as a 'hero' by the Prime Minister, and RFS Commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons. Maori members of the Rural Fire Service perform a Haka during the funeral for their fellow volunteer Andrew O'Dwyer.
