VIDEO: Since 1860, there have been 143 firefighters who have lost their lives serving their community. On Thursday, the Milwaukee Fire Department honored those lost with the 27th annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial Recognition.
"We weep for our fallen," said Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski. "We do not forget our fallen."
Kate Nell's father, Walter Nell, lost his life in a crash while responding to a fire call back in 1977.
For the past 27 years, his daughter, who was just two weeks old at the time of his death, has visited the Last Call Memorial outside the Milwaukee Fire Department's Headquarters and has attended the Fallen Firefighter Memorial program as a way to connect with her dad.
"Honor and memory are just, for me, the closest thing I've ever had to my dad," Nell explained.