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BOSTON -
In a show of devotion to their fallen brother and his wife, firefighters who worked with Lt. Edward Walsh dug through the rubble and ashes of the building in which he died to find his wedding ring.
The ring was not on Walsh's hand when his body, along with that of fellow firefighter Michael Kennedy, was removed from the building at 298 Beacon Street.
Photos: Wake and funeral for Lt. Walsh | Watch report
Kristen Walsh, his wife, called the Boylston Street firehouse to ask those who worked with Walsh to try to find it.
A top-to-bottom search of the firehouse found nothing, leading his fellow firefighters to believe it had to have been lost in the fire and leading them to search the fire building.
"It was down in the basement. It was all debris, fire debris. It was all wet and matted together, there were six of us," said Patty Kenneally Donovan, the first woman appointed to the Boston Fire Department. "One started digging, another had a shovel, four of us had sifters and you just go through it slowly, scoop after scoop with your hands."
After 90 minutes searching through the debris, the ring was found by Kenneally Donovan.
"I finally saw a circle when I was sifting. I saw it and I picked it up," she said. "I started cleaning it off and I realized, 'Oh my gosh this is it.' I got the chills and I said, 'Oh my gosh I found it.'"
Kenneally Donovan and the other firefighters returned the ring to Kristen Walsh on the eve of her husband's funeral.
"She slipped it on her finger and she started crying. We all gave her big hugs and that was it," she said.
http://m.wcvb.com/news/firefighters-dig-through-ashes-to-find-firefighters-wedding-ring/25282446?utm_campaign=wcvb+channel+5+boston&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=hootsuite
In a show of devotion to their fallen brother and his wife, firefighters who worked with Lt. Edward Walsh dug through the rubble and ashes of the building in which he died to find his wedding ring.
The ring was not on Walsh's hand when his body, along with that of fellow firefighter Michael Kennedy, was removed from the building at 298 Beacon Street.
Photos: Wake and funeral for Lt. Walsh | Watch report
Kristen Walsh, his wife, called the Boylston Street firehouse to ask those who worked with Walsh to try to find it.
A top-to-bottom search of the firehouse found nothing, leading his fellow firefighters to believe it had to have been lost in the fire and leading them to search the fire building.
"It was down in the basement. It was all debris, fire debris. It was all wet and matted together, there were six of us," said Patty Kenneally Donovan, the first woman appointed to the Boston Fire Department. "One started digging, another had a shovel, four of us had sifters and you just go through it slowly, scoop after scoop with your hands."
After 90 minutes searching through the debris, the ring was found by Kenneally Donovan.
"I finally saw a circle when I was sifting. I saw it and I picked it up," she said. "I started cleaning it off and I realized, 'Oh my gosh this is it.' I got the chills and I said, 'Oh my gosh I found it.'"
Kenneally Donovan and the other firefighters returned the ring to Kristen Walsh on the eve of her husband's funeral.
"She slipped it on her finger and she started crying. We all gave her big hugs and that was it," she said.
http://m.wcvb.com/news/firefighters-dig-through-ashes-to-find-firefighters-wedding-ring/25282446?utm_campaign=wcvb+channel+5+boston&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=hootsuite
