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From: "Joshua A. Marks, M.D." <joshua.a.marks@...>
Subject: Message from NCEMSF President re: Major John P. Pryor, M.D.
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:54:10 -0500
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NCEMSF,

It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of Major
John Pryor, a great friend and mentor to NCEMSF and many of its
members, and a fervent supporter of collegiate EMS. He was serving
his second tour as a combat surgeon with the United States Army. He
was deployed on December 6th and had been on location with a forward
surgical team when he was killed by enemy fire in Iraq on Christmas
morning.

I fondly remember my first interaction with Dr. Pryor. We were
sitting in the trauma bay waiting for the next patient to arrive when
I asked him if he would be interested in speaking at our 2005
conference. As we talked about NCEMSF, he marveled at the existence
of an organization dedicated towards supporting collegiate EMS. From
that conversation, his involvement has continued not only through
repeated lectures and key note addresses, but as an advocate for
campus EMS. He was instrumental in the development of MERT, the
student-run medical emergency response team at the University of
Pennsylvania.

His passion for the field of trauma and the care of his patients
provided an inspiration to many of our members to pursue medicine and
to always strive to make a difference. He always was willing to
provide career advice and guidance. The impact that he has left
through his interactions with undergraduate students is immeasurable.
He was an outstanding role model, a gifted teacher, and a talented
surgeon.

He is best remembered by his favorite quote by Albert Schweitzer. "….
Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Every man has to seek in his
own way to realize his true worth. You must give some time to your
fellow man. Even if it's a little thing, do something for those who
need help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of
doing it. For remember, you don't lie in a world all your own. Your
brothers are here, too."

Throughout his entire life, he dedicated himself to providing
emergency care to people in need. His passion for EMS was cultivated
during his undergraduate years at Binghamton University through his
involvement with Harpur's Ferry Student Volunteer Ambulance Service.
He completed medical school and general surgery training at the
University of Buffalo, in Buffalo New York, and completed fellowship
training in trauma surgery and critical care at University of
Pennsylvania. He served two active duty tours as a trauma surgeon for
the 344th Combat Support Hospital in Abu Ghraib, Iraq in 2006, and
then with the 1st Forward Surgical Team (FST) in 2008.

His sudden death, while serving our country as a physician on the
battlefield, is a tremendous loss to the collegiate EMS and trauma
community. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his wife,
three children, and entire family this holiday season. We will pass
on further information as it becomes available regarding services and
ways in which we can help the Pryor family.

George J. Koenig, Jr, DO
President, Board of Directors
National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation (NCEMSF)
Email: president@... Web: http://www.ncemsf.org
Phone/Fax: 208-728-7342
Postal Mail: PO Box 93 / West Sand Lake, NY 12196

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Founded in 1993, NCEMSF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional
organization committed to scholarship, research and consultancy
activities and to creating a safer, healthier environment on college
and university campuses. Comprised of approximately 200 college
campus based emergency medical service (EMS) agencies trained to
respond within minutes and provide care tailored specifically to
campus emergencies, NCEMSF's purpose is to support, promote, and
advocate EMS on college and university campuses nationwide. In
addition to providing for the acquisition of medical knowledge,
campus based EMS allows student participants to develop certain life
skills including leadership, communication, and decision making.
NCEMSF provides a forum for communication and creates an environment
where ideas can be exchanged and problems can be solved.

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This e-mail sent courtesy of the National Collegiate EMS Foundation
PO Box 93, West Sand Lake, NY 12196
Please visit the NCEMSF Web site at http://www.ncemsf.org/ for more
information and resources related to collegiate EMS.