Jake Henschen Memorial Fund - WFF
Tax deductible
Our friend Jake Henschen had a fierce passion for Wildland Firefighting. He was a combat veteran, a father, son, brother, and Wildland Firefighter. He was our family. His enthusiasm for work was contagious, and it was hard, if not impossible to stay in a bad mood for long with Jake working next you. He soaked in every minute of his first Fire season. Pictures, jokes, culture, and of course constantly researching new fire starts to see where he and the rest of the Vegas Valley Veterans crew would be headed next. To say he was an asset to the team would be an understatement, he was one of the integral pieces of glue, a constant source of positivity and humor, that bound us even tighter as a crew.
Jake was taken from us after the end of Fire season, and he took a piece of all of us with him that we will never get back. The world is a darker place without Jake, and I regret that more people couldn't get to know him personally, because they would all be better off for it. I am using this fundraiser as a way to carry his name forward, and help others benefit from his memory.
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation became personally involved with our crew and our grieving process. They enabled several crew members to travel to Jake's funeral despite financial problems, which made such a massive impact on the ability for us to meet his wonderful family and see each other again to process the loss together. It is hard to put in to words the difference it made to come together to celebrate Jake's life with his family and each other, but it was overwhelming, and to that we owe the WFF a debt of gratitude.
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation’s main focus is to help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist injured firefighters and their families. They honor and acknowledge past, present, and future members of the wildland firefighting community, and partner with private and interagency organizations to bring recognition to wildland firefighters.
It is hard to put in to words the impact Jake had on our lives, the following are words I read at his funeral, and hopefully can give some insight to those that did not know him an idea of the man he was...
"Last night a lot of us from the Vegas Valley crew and Jakes family got together and had a great time eating and swapping stories about Jake. A lot of those stories and experiences from Jakes life got me to thinking about some of the things that made Jake so special and stand out so much in our lives.
One of the big themes and attributes of his that I kept coming back to, and that I had seen a lot in the Marine Corps, was something we called “cheerfulness in the face of adversity". Now, we may call it different names or things depending on the branch we served, but the core concept is the same. It is the ability of someone, no matter how hard the circumstances or bad the situation, to keep a good attitude and come out of it on the other side. It is someone who smiles in the face of adversity, and inspires the others around him to keep pushing, even when they themselves are suffering.
That was Jake. Jake didn’t have the easiest life. Jake had a life that would have caused lesser men or women to give up, but that wasn’t Jake. Jake loved his family and friends and refused to keep trying, pushing and looking for opportunities to make himself better.
Jake knew he had made mistakes, but it didn’t stop him from trying to make himself better every single day. And we can all learn from that.
After observing Jake over the season, I felt that he had found something special in Wildland Fire. He had truly found an important purpose for his life. No matter how long or hard the day, Jake would come back to camp full of inside jokes and stories from the day. Getting to know him over our 6 month season was a blessing, and I wish we all had 10 more seasons of to make memories with him.
All of us from the crew thank you for your hospitality, and the privilege to get to know and work with our brother Jake."
Please help us keep Jake's memory alive and use it to benefit others. Any amount of donation goes to the Wildland Fire Community experiencing loss in their lives.
Jake was taken from us after the end of Fire season, and he took a piece of all of us with him that we will never get back. The world is a darker place without Jake, and I regret that more people couldn't get to know him personally, because they would all be better off for it. I am using this fundraiser as a way to carry his name forward, and help others benefit from his memory.
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation became personally involved with our crew and our grieving process. They enabled several crew members to travel to Jake's funeral despite financial problems, which made such a massive impact on the ability for us to meet his wonderful family and see each other again to process the loss together. It is hard to put in to words the difference it made to come together to celebrate Jake's life with his family and each other, but it was overwhelming, and to that we owe the WFF a debt of gratitude.
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation’s main focus is to help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist injured firefighters and their families. They honor and acknowledge past, present, and future members of the wildland firefighting community, and partner with private and interagency organizations to bring recognition to wildland firefighters.
It is hard to put in to words the impact Jake had on our lives, the following are words I read at his funeral, and hopefully can give some insight to those that did not know him an idea of the man he was...
"Last night a lot of us from the Vegas Valley crew and Jakes family got together and had a great time eating and swapping stories about Jake. A lot of those stories and experiences from Jakes life got me to thinking about some of the things that made Jake so special and stand out so much in our lives.
One of the big themes and attributes of his that I kept coming back to, and that I had seen a lot in the Marine Corps, was something we called “cheerfulness in the face of adversity". Now, we may call it different names or things depending on the branch we served, but the core concept is the same. It is the ability of someone, no matter how hard the circumstances or bad the situation, to keep a good attitude and come out of it on the other side. It is someone who smiles in the face of adversity, and inspires the others around him to keep pushing, even when they themselves are suffering.
That was Jake. Jake didn’t have the easiest life. Jake had a life that would have caused lesser men or women to give up, but that wasn’t Jake. Jake loved his family and friends and refused to keep trying, pushing and looking for opportunities to make himself better.
Jake knew he had made mistakes, but it didn’t stop him from trying to make himself better every single day. And we can all learn from that.
After observing Jake over the season, I felt that he had found something special in Wildland Fire. He had truly found an important purpose for his life. No matter how long or hard the day, Jake would come back to camp full of inside jokes and stories from the day. Getting to know him over our 6 month season was a blessing, and I wish we all had 10 more seasons of to make memories with him.
All of us from the crew thank you for your hospitality, and the privilege to get to know and work with our brother Jake."
Please help us keep Jake's memory alive and use it to benefit others. Any amount of donation goes to the Wildland Fire Community experiencing loss in their lives.
Organizer
Harry Walker
Organizer
Fort Bragg, NC
Wildland Firefighter Foundation
Beneficiary