Annual Memorial Services
Every year the Fighters Memorial Foundation of Missouri holds two services for those who have passed. The Memorial Service is on the 1st Sunday in October at 10:30 am and the Candlelight Service is the evening before at 7:00 pm. We want to honor all Missouri firefighters that have passed. Please submit their information and we will proudly honor them in our yearly memorial services.
Location
5550 Dunn Drive
Kingdom City, MO 65262
Services will be held regardless of weather. An offsite location is used if outside weather does not cooperate.
2024 Services
The 2024 Candlelight Service will be Saturday October 5th at 7:00 pm and the Sunday Service October 6th at 10:30 am.
2024 Candlelight Service
Saturday October 5th at 7:00 pm.
2024 Memorial Service
Sunday Service October 6th at 10:30 am.
What to prepare for if attending one or both services
Weather and Alternate Location
The weather in Kingdom City in October may be short-sleeved warm or light winter coat cool. The wind is always blowing and seldom calm. We hold each service regardless of weather, but the goal is to hold both on-site at the memorial.
It is located at 5550 Dunn Drive, Kingdom City, MO. If we must move, that decision is only made a few hours before each service after a detailed conversation with the National Weather Service. If we move, it will be to the Gym of the Auxvasse Middle School at 598 E Harrison St., Auxvasse, MO. This is 5 miles north of the Memorial just off of (west of) 54-highway. If we move, someone will be on-site at the memorial directing the move north to Auxvasse and services will start 30 minutes later than the planned time. 7:00 will be 7:30 and 10:30 will be 11:00.
Plan Accordingly
Please consult the weather in Kingdom City before attending and plan accordingly. The temperature at night can drop rapidly and bringing a blanket is 100% acceptable. The Saturday evening service runs from 7:00 to 8:15 pm. The Sunday morning service runs from 10:30 am until 12:00 pm and it is 100% in the sun which may benefit from sunscreen. Bottled water is provided, a filtered water bottle fill station is in the museum, an ambulance will be on standby, and restrooms are provided in the museum building. The parking lot at the memorial fills up very quickly, but there is adequate space available on the adjacent streets next to the memorial providing an easy and short walk back to the site.
Ceremony Details
There will be an information table to assist with all questions, specifically those related to finding a name. The Saturday evening candlelight program will have a detailed printed program book with each person being honored, a picture and a brief biography. This service is informal compared to Sunday morning, casual/comfortable dress, family-friendly, and will involve the lighting of candles with an “in memory wax cup” which you may keep and take home. The Sunday morning program is a formal service, tightly scripted, with honor guards, flags, pipes, drums, guest speaker(s) and several formal presentations of honors. There is a focus on those who have passed in the line of duty, but no less important for the non-line of duty names. They are listed in the Sunday morning program book; names will be read aloud and one toll of the bell.
Field of Flags
There will be a field of flags prepared on the memorial site and a flag may be purchased in honor of, in memory of, or in appreciation of someone up to 4 weeks before the services.
Lodging
If a hotel is needed Saturday night, there are 5 hotels in Kingdom City; Holiday Inn Express, Quality Inn, Amerihost, Days Inn, and Motel 6. Five miles south in Fulton, there is a Baymont Inn and Amerihost. Going 15 miles north to Mexico, MO, there is Country Hearth Inn & Suites, Best Western and Days Inn. 20 miles to the west is Columbia and there are 30+ options unless it is a Mizzou football weekend.
Questions?
If you have any questions please reach out and ask!
