Firefighters stage surprise flag-raising for fallen Naples Marine

EAST NAPLES, Fla. The benefit itself was a touching gesture for the family of a U.S. Marine from Naples who was killed in a training exercise.

Then a team of firefighters took it up a notch.

The crew working Ladder 21 for the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District pulled up Saturday during a fundraiser for the late Lance Cpl. The fundraiser will benefit the Ruiz family.

The firefighters unfurled a giant American flag and hoisted it up their ladder so that it towered above the Twisted Spoke Saloon on 5083 Tamiami Trail E., where the fundraiser was held. The band there for the event broke out into “The Star Spangled Banner.”

“By the time the national anthem was playing, not a dry eye, the most beautiful unbelievable experience,” saloon co-owner Rhonda Shimel said.

Hundreds were in attendance as the fire engine pulled up. The surprise was a spur-of-the moment gesture for the crew, according to Ladder 21 Capt. Craig Weinbaum, one of the 10 firefighters who took part.

“There are few times in life you get to do the right thing, and it was just the right thing to do,” he said.

Saloon co-owner Ron Lanich said he and Shimel had similar motivation to put on the fundraiser for the Ruiz family in the first place.

“Our motto in life is family, friends and those who can’t help themselves, so they’re family to us,” he said.

Lanich was grateful for the stirring show of support from the firefighters.

“The respect and the love that you showed that family for losing their son was amazing,” he said.

Ruiz died Jan. 13 during a live-fire exercise at the 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California. The training was standard procedure that infantry and some support units typically complete prior to deployment, according to the center, which ruled his death accidental.

He was only 19, but he’d already won several medals and awards, including the National Defense Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Medal.

A full military service was performed in Ruiz’s honor Jan. 22 at Lovers Key State Park, complete with a gun salute and the presentation of a folded American flag to his parents. Some Marines who knew Ruiz traveled all the way from the base where they were stationed in Okinawa to take part.

It was the same spirit of honoring a fallen compatriot that motivated the firefighters to show up Saturday.

“Austin and his family sacrified the biggest sacrifice they could offer, and we understand that as firefighters,” Weinbaum said.

Firefighters are typically regarded as heroes. But for a few moments Saturday, they stood aside to honor a Marine remembered by those who knew him as a joyful person who wanted to help others.

“In that moment, truthfully we all felt very small,” Weinbaum said. “That moment was a lot bigger than us.”

See the dramatic flag raising here: