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Associated Press - June 4, 2009 10:35 AM ET
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The graves of 2 black firefighters killed in a 1949 department store fire in Charleston didn't have markers designating their sacrifice, until now.
Workers at Spring Hill Cemetery in Charleston set granite markers at the graves of George Coates and Richard McCormick on Wednesday. Coates and McCormick were among seven firefighters killed in the fire.
Charleston Professional Firefighters President Myron Boggess collected $800 from fellow firefighters to buy the markers. Boggess had tracked down all seven firefighters' graves and discovered that those of Coates and McCormick were the only ones that didn't have markers designating they died in the fire.
Boggess says Coates and McCormick were part of a brotherhood among firefighters and they should be remembered.
Information from: Charleston Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
