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"The day my grandfather died, this city lost a hero.

Born just before the Great Depression, Michael "Mac" Parker grew up learning the value of hard work. Like so many men of his generation, he volunteered to join the armed forces and ended up fighting alongside the Allied forces in France.

During the war, he witnessed many deaths of his close friends. Men whom he had gone through training with died at his side. Some took the bullets that were probably intended for him. Life became a precious gift that he wanted to keep at any cost. One day he was hit in the leg, shot by an enemy troop. He lay on the ground, grasping for his gun, fighting for his life.

When the field medics came by, they were amazed that he was still alive. Although we might not think of leg wounds as a massive injury, during war it could mean life or death. He was flown to a hospital in England where he met a beautiful nurse named Eloise.

During his short stay at the hospital, he and Eloise fell in love. They later married and moved to Oregon where they settled down. They rented a small studio apartment from one of Mac's cousins, living off their meager savings until Mac could find a job.

Mac never intended to become a firefighter. Looking back, he would recall how he had applied on a whim. Richard, his older brother, was a firefighter and making good money. Mac wanted to provide for his wife and firefighting seemed like as good of a profession as anything else. He was sworn into the Portland Fire Bureau in 1950.

He made his way through the ranks, first as Lieutenant, then Captain, and finally as a Battalion Chief. The brotherhood of firefighters became his extended family. Eloise and he would often visit on his days off, bringing the men treats and encouraging words.

I remember the only time that I saw Eloise, my grandmother, scared. I was ten years old and we were watching a program on television. Mac was on duty and we had a batch of brownies in the oven. We were planning on taking them to him as soon as they were done.

A blond reporter interrupted the program. A four-alarm fire was ripping through a building in downtown Portland. Three people were trapped on the roof with no means of escape and firefighters were on their way up to rescue them.

The screen went to video shot by the news helicopter. Sure enough, there were flames shooting out of the broken glass windows, licking the sides of the old brick building. Firemen were on the street, shooting water at the base of the fire, trying to put it

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