Memorial Events Honor Fallen EMS Professionals Throughout the Summer

With Leigh Chambers of the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride and Tammy Chatman of the National EMS Memorial Service

The National EMS Memorial Bike Ride (NEMSMBR) announced the 89 honorees from 27 states for its 2026 season of long-distance bicycle rides in late April. This year marks the 26th season of celebrating EMS professionals who have fallen due to line of duty deaths and those who died from various other causes and left an impact on their local or greater EMS community. This year’s Honor Roll includes 37 honorees who will be celebrated during the National EMS Memorial Service Weekend of Honor July 17-19, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

This year’s NEMSMBR routes will travel over 1,900 miles through 17 states and the District of Columbia. The Southern Route from Jamestown, Virginia, to Spartanburg, South Carolina and the East Coast Route from Boston to Washington, D.C. have concluded at press time. The rides resume June 13 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, and conclude in September at the Keeper of the Plains in Wichita, Kansas.

Participants will be carrying dog tags with the names of these 89 honorees who served every day, those who have become sick or injured while performing their duties, and those who have died in the line of duty. Participants will join families, friends, and fellow first responders throughout the route with scheduled memorial celebrations and a reading of the names of the 2026 honorees.

The National EMS Memorial Service is hosting Moving Honors for the fifth year. This procession begins June 1 in Riverside, California and concludes July 1 in Arlington. The procession moves the Tree of Life art installation across the country honoring the air medical and EMS professionals who lost their lives in the line of duty the previous year.

Designed by Tom and Jenn Liebman at their home in Dallas, Texas, the Tree of Life will join Moving Honors when it stops in Dallas. The procession includes a specially decorated ambulance, which houses the Tree of Life until it reaches Arlington. A replica is available to view along the route.

More than just a journey, Moving Honors serves two purposes:

• To ensure the sacrifices of EMS and air medical providers are seen, honored and remembered.
• To give communities across the nation access to the Tree of Life, creating personal moments of connection, healing and tribute.

Moving Honors will join a single day NEMSMBR ride through Arlington on July 17 to complete the Tree of Life’s journey to the Hyatt Regency Crystal City to kick off the Weekend of Honor. The National EMS Memorial Service will take place July 18 at the Hyatt and is open to the public. A livestream link will be available on the NEMSMS website.