Palm Coast dedicates fire engine in honor of fallen soldier
The Palm Coast Fire Department dedicated a fire engine over the Memorial Day weekend in honor of Army Cpl. Raheen Tyson Heighter, who was killed in Iraq in 2003 and was the son of City Council Member Cathy Heighter.
Raheen Heighter’s name was inscribed on the window of a Palm Coast Fire Department fire engine during a Gold Star dedication ceremony May 27 at Fire Station 25 with family and friends of the fallen soldier along with families of other fallen soldiers and fire department personnel, according to the city.
"I thought the ceremony was absolutely beautiful," Cathy Heighter said in a phone interview Tuesday. "I thought the timing for it was just perfect because July 24 of this year will mark the 20th anniversary of my son’s death in Iraq."
Honoring the fallen: Memorial Day ceremony in DeLand honors sacrifices for freedom
Remembering those who have served: Gold Star families gather to remember fallen sons and daughters
Raheen Tyson Heighter was born in Bayshore, New York, and was described as “having a servant’s heart with a desire to serve his country,” the release from the city stated.
Heighter tried to enlist in the military at 17. His mother said in the phone interview that she told him he would have to wait until he was an adult.
"For me as a mother at that time, I feel it was best that he made his own decision for his life when he was of age," she said.
Three years later, at the age of 20, Heighter enlisted in the Army several months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Heighter served a year in South Korea before he was assigned to the Second Battalion, 320th Field Artillery from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
He deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He was killed north of Al Hawd, Iraq, on July 24, 2003, when his military convoy was ambushed. He was 22.
Raheen Heighter was one of the service members included in an HBO documentary about last letters home.
In a June 20 letter to his mother, the soldier wrote he would be coming home soon.
“Time goes by like a continuous 'Groundhog Day' over here. In the beginning, there was a lot of bloodshed, but now it’s all over. The good news is I will be coming home in September – October at the latest.”
Cathy Heighter said she received that letter two days before she was informed of his death.
He was laid to rest with full military honors at Long Island National Cemetery.
Raheen Heighter’s name was inscribed on a window of Fire Engine 24, a 2023 engine delivered to the city earlier this year and based at Fire Station 24, known as the Harbor House, at 1500 Palm Harbor Parkway.
Since moving to Palm Coast in 2005, Cathy Heighter has been a leader within the Gold Star community.
Cathy Heighter was also instrumental in the fight to increase death benefits for the families of fallen soldiers.
“I am very proud to say that I was a part of making that happen and being able to say that I have kept my promise to my son to never forget the sacrifice he has made and the sacrifices that all our fallen heroes have made and that all who have served our country have made,” she said in the phone interview.
She established Remembering Heroes, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to supporting veterans, retired and active-duty armed forces members, Gold Star military families, first responders, local hometown heroes, and the Invisible Wounds Memorial.
Cathy Heighter was elected in November to the District 4 City Council seat.
The idea for dedicating a fire truck to the memory of a fallen soldier was proposed by firefighter-paramedic Christopher Strozier, a Navy veteran.
The Palm Coast Fire Department last year dedicated Engine 21 to Marine Lance Cpl. John T. Schmidt III.
In 2021, the fire department dedicated Ladder 25 to the memory of Marine Sgt. Zachary J. Walter.
“We often forget why we have the rights and freedoms we do. Dedicating the fire engine to the memory of Gold Star families is a small way to show our appreciation for what they have sacrificed,” Strozier stated in the release.
The fire department plans each Memorial Day to dedicate a fire apparatus to a Gold Star recipient whose name is inscribed in the Veterans Memorial at Heroes Memorial Park.
Stated Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill in the release: “We are so proud that Cpl. Heighter will now ride with Palm Coast Fire Engine 24 as they work to deliver their best to the community every time, as they protect the life and property of our residents, as they seek to bring us back to stability when confronted with chaos.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast Fire Department dedicates engine in honor of fallen soldier
