NAVY ANNEX STUMPNECK, Indian Head, Md. --  “The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps,” said Gen. Alexander A. Vandergrift, 18th commandant of the Marine Corps. New York Fire Department Fire Chief Raymond M. Downey Sr., a Marine veteran, died not on a bended knee, but he died on his feet while saving lives.

 The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was created in 1996 by Gen. Charles Krulak, 31st commandant of the Marine Corps, in response to the 1995 subway sarin attack in Tokyo. Before then, there was no formal training available in the U.S. military to stand up a unit capable of defending these types of attacks.

 Retired Master Sgt. Robert Massie and retired Master Sgt. Pat Higgins, veteran Marines with CBIRF, met Downey, who was working in the fire department, and began a “good relationship based on mutual needs for training and the sharing of information,” said Hugo Herold, CBIRF Basic Course instructor and retired FDNY firefighter.

 In 2000, Downey helped enhance the training and response capabilities of CBIRF while the unit was in transition from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., to Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Md.

 “(FDNY) had firsthand knowledge and a world-class training facility,” said Gunnery Sgt. Trenton Widdis, Company B gunnery sergeant. “The training Chief Downey provided is going to continue as long as this battalion is alive.”

 Downey envisioned a brotherhood between FDNY firefighters and CBIRF Marines and sailors. At its inception, CBIRF Marines and sailors began to foster a relationship with FDNY firefighters.

 “Chief Downey started the relationship between CBIRF rescue and New York City Fire Department,” said Cpl. Seth Higley, rescue technician, Technical Rescue Platoon. “He made the relationship what it is today. FDNY trains us to be as proficient as they are. They are the rescue gods.”

 “(FDNY) always tried to be accommodating,” Herold said.

 “He ensured FDNY resources were made available to CBIRF as we moved forward in our endeavor to achieve operational success,” said Massie, who helped form CBIRF’s Technical Rescue Platoon in 1999.

 Downey gained senior FDNY leadership support to step outside the box and allow CBIRF Marines into the FDNY brotherhood and live with and train alongside the most experienced rescue, firefighter, and hazardous material responders in the country, according to Massie.

 Marines from aircraft rescue and firefighting occupational fields come to CBIRF to acquire additional skill sets. Because of Downey, Marines from this occupational field become proficient in confined-space, collapsed-structure, vehicle-extrication, rope and trench rescue.

 “The CBIRF Technical Rescue Platoon is by far the most proficiently organized, equipped, and trained rescue capability the Corps has to offer,” Massie said.

 While Downey helped forge a bond between FDNY and CBIRF Marines, he led the way the Marine Corps taught him until the day he died. Downey served in the Corps from 1956-1959 as an infantryman in 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune.

 “His espirit de corps carried on from the Marine Corps was evident in everything he did,” said Higgins, who is an instructor for the CBIRF Basic Course.

 That espirit de corps was especially evident Sept. 11, when Downey saved countless lives. That morning, terrorists associated with Al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners. He was in Tower 2 of the World Trade Center helping people flee the scene when the tower collapsed, Herold said.

 “(FDNY) knew there would be a great loss of life,” Herold said. “But no one expected those buildings to come down. The heat of the fire compromised the steel and once the upper portions of the building started to move, the transfer of weight was too great and the building collapsed.”

 The Raymond M. Downey Sr. Responder Training Facility, CBIRF’s main training facility, is an aptly-named home for training CBIRF Marines on how to save lives as Downey did Sept. 11.

 “He gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country,” Higgins said.

 Even today, Downey’s words of inspiration still echo through the busy halls of the training facility. His motivation is captured on a simple sign in front of the training facility: “Let no American’s ghost come back to say our training let him down.”