FORT WORTH -- Bobby Wayne Abshire died the same way he lived -- as a hero.
A Marine who did three tours in Vietnam, the Fort Worth native received the Navy Cross in 1967 for jumping from a helicopter while under heavy gunfire to rescue 23 wounded soldiers.Later, as a Fort Worth firefighter, he was honored for helping to save the life of a toddler who had fallen into a fish pond.His final act of bravery came in the early morning hours of June 9, 1984.Abshire, 41, was off duty when he stopped to help a man whose car had stalled on Airport Freeway. He and the motorist were walking in the grass when an intoxicated driver lost control of his car and barreled their way.Abshire pushed the stranded motorist out of the way, but he was hit by the car and died a short time later."In the military they teach you to lay your life on the line and that's what he did. It was instinct," said his brother, Dale Abshire. "He didn't think when he pushed that guy out of the way. It was just instinct."Wednesday, more than 28 years after his heroic death, Abshire's name was added to the Fort Worth Police and Firefighters Memorial, joining 38 other firefighters, 56 Fort Worth police officers, and three deputy marshals who have lost their lives in the line of duty.'An inspiration to all'Though 14 months younger, Dale Abshire had towered over his older brother since they were very young -- a fact that often drew ribbing from relatives and provoked fights between the two siblings."Forever he practiced his fighting skills on me," Dale Abshire said with a laugh. "My dad use to tell other fireman, forget going to the Golden Gloves. He said just bring a six-pack over here; we'll put Bobby and Dale in the back yard. We'll have a much better fight."Dale Abshire said while his height gave him the advantage, one day he decided to let his older brother win and earned a life lesson in doing so."We started fighting. He got me in a headlock and I said, 'I've had enough. I've had enough. You win!'" Dale Abshire recalled. "He said, 'No. I'll tell you when you've had enough.' He said, 'This fight is not over till I say it's over.'"I've tried to live my life under that philosophy."While Dale Abshire excelled in sports, his brother's talents were in ROTC and chess. He graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1961 and that summer enlisted in the MarinesIn his nine years in the military, Abshire did three tours in Vietnam, first on the ground and the last two as a helicopter crew chief doing medical evacuations.He received the Navy Cross -- the nation's second-highest medal for meritorious combat service -- for a May 1966 mission near Da Nang, Vietnam, where he made numerous trips, carrying and loading wounded and dead soldiers into the helicopter despite being under enemy fire."On one occasion, he swiftly silenced an enemy machine gun with accurate fire from a grenade launcher," the medal citation reads. "His fearless and determined efforts contributed in large measure to the success of the mission, in which twenty-three casualties were evacuated. His courage in the face of hostile fire and his compassion for his wounded comrades were an inspiration to all who observed him."'It's about time'After leaving the military, Abshire followed in the footsteps of his father, Fort Worth fire Capt. Colbert Abshire. He joined the department and graduated top in his recruit class.He later received the Fire Department's Meritorious Fire Serve Award for performing CPR and helping save the life of a boy who had fallen in a fishpond behind his grandfather's Fort Worth wrecker service on Aug. 31, 1974.Jack Armstrong III, now 40 and living in Keller, doesn't remember the day that he was pulled, not breathing, from the water by his father and grandfather, who performed CPR until Abshire arrived and took over.Still, he has heard the story so many times over the years and has seen the photograph of Abshire holding him that ran with a Star-Telegram article about the firefighter's award that it seems like his own memory."He was a hero and it's about time they did something for these firemen," Armstrong said on learning Abshire's name was being added to the memorial wall.Last time they talkedWhen not working as a firefighter, Abshire had worked part time for his brother as an insurance underwriter, setting a record for most sales in the Fort Worth office.Dale Abshire remembers dialing the office about 11 one night to try out a new phone he'd received for his birthday. He was surprised when his brother answered."I said, 'What are you still doing at the office?'" Abshire said.Abshire said he was preparing for a meeting the new day with a big client and wanted to make sure he had everything right.It would be their last phone conversation."Four o'clock in the morning his wife called me," Dale Abshire said. "She said he hadn't come home and she was looking for him. She'd said she'd already drove over to the office and he wasn't there."Dale Abshire said he was about to leave the house to search himself when the phone rang again with the Fire Department's chaplain on the line."I just said, 'Is he dead?' and he said, 'Yes, he is,'" Dale Abshire said, choking up.The man who struck Abshire, Wayne L. Whitlock, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison.'He's truly a hero'Kevin Foster, a retired Fort Worth police sergeant and chairman of the memorial's board, had researched the fallen officers and firefighters whose names are on the memorial but only learned about Abshire about a month ago when reading an old newspaper article."I regularly mine newspaper records and other historical records looking for people that might have been missed," Foster said.He and David Griffin, an engineer with the Fire Department, dug more into Abshire's past and, earlier this month, the memorial's board voted to include him on the monument.Current and retired firefighters -- including some who had worked alongside Abshire and others who never knew him but simply came to show their respect -- gathered with Dale Abshire on Wednesday afternoon to watch as workers sandblasted Abshire's name and date of death into the memorial wall's black granite."He's truly a hero," Dale Abshire. "Truly always was."Deanna Boyd, 817-390-7655Twitter: @deannaboydHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
