Origin of the Maltese Cross
The Maltese Cross is a symbol of
protection-a badge of
honor. Its story is hundreds of years old.
When a courageous
band of crusaders, known as the Knights of
St. John, fought
the Saracens for possession of the Holy
Land, they
encountered a new weapon unknown to European
warriors.
It was a simple, but horrible device of war;
it wrought
excruciating pain and agonizing death upon
the brave
fighters of the Cross.
The Saracens' weapon was fire!
As the Crusaders advanced on the walls of
the city, they
were attacked by glass bombs containing
naphtha. When
they became saturated with the highly
flammable liquid, the
Saracens hurled a flaming tree into their
midst. Hundreds
of Knights were burned alive. Others risked
their lives
to save their brothers in arms from dying
painful deaths.
Thus, these men became the first fire
fighters...and the
first of a long list of courageous Fire
Fighters. Their heroic
efforts were recognized by fellow Crusaders
who awarded
each hero with a badge of honor-a cross
similar to the one
Fire Fighters wear today.
Since the Knights of St. John lived for
nearly four centuries
on a little island in the Mediterranean Sea,
named Malta,
the Cross became known as the Maltese Cross.
The Maltese Cross is a symbol of protection.
It means that
the fire fighter that wears this Cross is
willing to lay down
his life, just as the Crusaders sacrificed
their lives for
their fellow men so many years ago.
The Maltese Cross is a Fire Fighter's Badge
of Courage...
a ladder-rung away from death.
