DTRT and The Maltese Cross

By: Dave Brasells
photog_64@hotmail.com
Training Trustee Middle Tennessee FOOLS 3’s Truck ‘A’ Shift Nashville Fire

I had the opportunity to interview the Executive Vice President
for Future Technologies at Microsoft several years back and asked him
this question: How are you able to look to the future and determine
what technology will be needed? His answer has stuck with me: “I look
to history to see the future.”

One of our core values for FOOLS is DTRT, Do The Right Thing.
Do you know where that saying came from? Do you know the next
time you will be placed in the position to have a choice on whether or
not to do the right thing? What will influence you to do the right thing?
I am not talking about obvious choices, I am talking about the ones
where your decision will affect relationships with people you want to
respect and hope have respect you.

For me, DTRT came from the Maltese Cross. What? You are
probably asking how I am drawing the connection. I am glad you are
and if you are not, please read on and let me share some history with
you so you can look into your future and prepare yourself to DTRT.

Fall of Jerusalem to Crusaders 1099

The year was 1099 and the place was Jerusalem. The Knights
Hospitaller were in the Holy Land fighting the Crusade to protect the
birth place of Christ as well as His place of crucifixion, burial place and
temple. Protection from what you might ask. Well, from the Muslims
(which is why we will always be at war in the world). The Knights
Hospitallers have always been devoted to serving the less privileged.
The Knights Templar may be more recognized and were more or less
mercenaries.

It was the Knights Hospitaller who observed an order of
Benedictine Monks who had organized to care for the sick, destitute,
vulnerable members of society in Jerusalem.

For the Knights Hospitaller, this was in keeping with their knightly oath:

The Oath of A Knight

(Also Known As A Knight's Prayer)

Almighty God, Eternal Father, Lord of Lords, have mercy upon me, a humble knight in Thy Divine Service. O Lord, I pray for Thy indulgence and blessings. Forget not Thine servant in his trials, nor his Order of Knighthood. I pray, that
Thy Will be done in all things, both great and small.

Let me always be worthy of Thee, let me not forge Thee in good times or bad. Armor me with the armor of Thy Righteousness, give me the sword of Truth that I shall confound Thine enemies and be unto Thee a true knight.

O Lord, in my hour of need, be with me. Let me never forget my
sacred and holy vows unto Thee, that I should not be prey unto
demons and devils nor the dark things of this world.

Let me always be a beacon unto those in distress, never allow me to
forget my obligation unto the homeless nor the poor: let me serve
Thee and Thine Eternal Throne all the days of my life. Let me always
remember the obligations that I have taken upon me. Lord, if it is
Thine Will, let me serve Thee forever!

If ever, oh Lord, I turn from Thee in this Order, let my name forever
be cursed, may my spurs be broken and my body given unto demons
to dwell with them forever in that Lake of Fire which Thou hast
prepared for the ungodly.

Power beyond Power, Pillar of Strength, Refuge of the Homeless, let
me serve Thee for all the days of my life! Amen.

The above words were part of an oral history of the Crusades compiled
in 1200 A.D. and were spoken by a Knight Hospitaller moments before
a battle against Moslem forces.
http://www.knightsusa.org/contents.html#Anchor-51403

The web link above gives a concise history on the Knight’s
Hospitallers which I used to research the four arms of the Maltese
Cross, what they stand for and why the Maltese Cross is so fitting for
the fire service to adopt as an emblem with profound meaning and
purpose for all who claim the title of Firefighter.

“The Order of the Knights of Malta of Saint John of Jerusalem, can
trace its beginnings to 1040 AD. At that time, Knights in the Order of
Saint John were recruited to protect the busy commerce flourishing
between the Italian city of Amalfi and the Holy Land. In its earliest
years, the new Order, largely composed of Frenchmen, fought against
the Caliphs of Baghdad and Egypt who attempted to rob merchants
doing business in the Holy Lands.

To counter the influence of Baghdad and Egypt, the Caliph of
Jerusalem, in 1048, established a treaty with the Knights. He gave
them a site close to the Holy Sepulcher, in his city, where they erected
a chapel, known as Santa Maria ad Latinos and two hospitals for sick
and weary pilgrims.

Though French, the Knights traced their descent from the ancient city
of Alexandria in the Holy Lands. It was at this ancient and flourishing
city that thousands had been converted to the New Faith by the
Disciples of Christ. After coming under the influence of the Byzantine
Empire, the city had become Maronite - of the Eastern rite. Yet, it held
to its Christian beginnings even under the Arabs.

Long having an association with the Holy Lands, it was not unusual
that the Knights should seek a meaningful relationship with their
origins. It was thus that in 1080, a powerful Knight known as Brother
Gerard (of French origin) established a relationship with the Caliph of
Jerusalem to build a special hospice for pilgrims and a cloister for his
knights and soldiers.

In 1099, following the fall of Jerusalem to the knights of the First
Crusade, Brother Gerard returned to the city. With the permission of
its new overlords, he established the Knights Hospitallers. The hospice
was run by Benedictine monks and nuns from Amalfi, Italy.

In 1113, Gerard abandoned the Benedictine rule for that of Saint
Augustine. The Hospitallers were created as an independent religious
order by Papal Bull. Under the command of Raymond du Puy, a
successor to Brother Gerard, the Order expanded until it protected all
the main ports of embarkation. They also establish hospitals for the
sick and infirm.

The Order, which traditionally attracted the flower of French chivalry,
had the honor of supporting the French king - and later Saint Louis IX,
during the 7th Crusade. In 1249, King Louis IX, with an army of
40,000 knights and troops, in conjunction with the Knights of Saint
John of Jerusalem, captured the key fortress city of Damietta, a major
port in northern Egypt.

Because of its association with Saint John, the Order, from its
beginning, has celebrated June 24th with a feast in honor of Saint
John's Day. In modern times, its bylaws call for the official Language
of the Order to be in Latin or French.

From its inception, the Order has enjoyed 900 years of continuity. It
can trace an unbroken link, by blood and heredity, to its beginnings in
the Holy Land. The Knights of Malta derive their present-day title from
the island of Malta, which they heroically defended in 1565 against
Turkish attacks.

Without the steadfast courage and bravery of this Hospitaller Order, all
Europe would have been engulfed in the Turkish Empire. Modern
history, as we know it, would have been altered beyond
comprehensive belief. Though military, the Order still recalls its
commitment to the poor and the sick. Its 900-year-old tradition of
service to the less fortunate still continues in every priory where it
flourishes.

Although the Order is now autonomous, it receives the blessings of His
Holiness, John Paul II, along with several other prominent churchmen
of the Eastern Orthodox Rite.”

Now let’s look at the classical design of the Maltese Cross.

The cross evolved to resemble four arrowheads with points touching
and with each arm representing a core value of the Knights of Malta
from the order of Knights Hospitallers.

Prudence
Temperance
Justice
Fortitude

Okay, now you ask what that means in today’s vocabulary. That is
easiest to define using what scholars believe the eight points of the
inverted arrowheads represent; the eight obligations a knight is
given:

To live in truth
To have faith
To be sincere
To give proof of humility
To live justice
To be merciful
To endure persecution
To repent of sin

The Reverend Dr. Michael foster, SSC, MIWO, Cert Theol Oxon,
elaborates on the meaning of the cross: http://www.netpages.freeonline.
co.uk/gms/eight.htm

If you look at the words that represent the four arms of the
cross and then the eight obligations, you will hopefully see the origin
of Do The Right Thing as well as inspiration for the rest of the FOOLS
motto found on our logo and originating with FOOLS International:

It is all about believing in something worthwhile. But I suggest
there are two more steps after that. You must know what you believe
and why you believe it, and then be able to make difficult decisions
that are true to your beliefs when life presents you with difficult
choices.

In contrast to loyalty to a person, I suggest loyalty to doing the
right thing will keep your integrity intact. If you are loyal to doing the
right thing, then you will be loyal to the right people who share your
convictions. I’ve been presented with situations where I’ve had to
choose being loyal to doing the right thing at the expense of personal
advancement and personal relationships. However, I have always
slept well at night and many important relationships have survived
because mutual respect of personal convictions and preferences were
accepted. One such challenge of my loyalty to do the right thing has
involved my beliefs in the FOOLS and being asked to disassociate with
our local chapter and the international chapter. I believe those urging
to break fellowship are ignorant of the true history of the Maltese
Cross and why the fire service chooses to use it. These members of
the fire service are pushing for change. Their reason for seeking
change has to do with a status quo attitude in the fire service to the
number of fallen firefighters we see on an annual basis. Other reasons
are the changes in lightweight construction and traditional fire attack
strategies that may not be worth the risk. Yes, we need to evaluate
repeated loss of life in the fire service and change our attitudes of complacency.

In addition, we need to renew our allegiance to the core
values of the Maltese Cross and do it justice and honor. We need to
train like our lives depend on it! We need to review strategies and
tactics and use our heads and not be robots. What we cannot afford
to do, however, is forget where we came from, who we are, and that
history is the key to understanding the future. I have chosen not to
betray my beliefs even though the personal hurt is immense and, at
times, is a lonely position.

Hospital built by Knights of Malta in the port of Malta

My conviction regarding loyalty to the history of the fire service
is due in part to the privilege of sailing into the harbor of Malta and
walking the streets, and seeing the hospitals erected to care for the
injured and begin the science of healing burn injuries. I’ve toured St.
John’s Cathedral where many Knights of Malta are buried in the floor
of the church with elaborate inlaid marble artwork giving tribute to
who they were and what they represented.

This experience enriched me and helped me appreciate not only
my ancestry that can be traced to the Knights Templar who
discovered the Azores and Brazil, but also why we use skulls, and
tools of the trade, and other symbols that represent what we do and
what we are proud of as firefighters. Our forefathers did that with the
crest that identified their family name and used symbols that
described what they were known for.

St. John’s on the Isle of Malta

We cannot allow the fire service to become like a Fortune 500
company: policy-making and politics over what a firefighter is and the
brotherhood. We also cannot simply do it because that’s the way
we’ve always done it. We must identify with our past, learn from our
mistakes, and do the right thing.

What do you know of fire service history? What do you know
about what you believe? What beliefs of yours are you prepared to
defend? Will you make the right choice when presented with a difficult
decision?

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