Marshall Moneymaker — better known as the Pink Fireman — has become a national figure in the fight against breast cancer. The lifelong Montgomery County fireman wears a bright, flamingo-pink uniform at breast cancer walks and fundraisers across the East Coast to show his loyalty to the cause. Even his helmet is pink, albeit a paler shade.
The get-up is hard to miss and soon it’s going to be even harder. Moneymaker recently sent in paperwork to acquire an old firetruck the department is ditching. He has big, predictably pink, plans for the vehicle — because what’s a pink fireman without a truck to match?
“We’re actually going to use it as a teaching tool,” he said. “It’s going to have messages to inspire women to get mammograms and we’ll take it to fundraisers and events.”
The 44-year-old fireman and his wife, Shannon, started a nonprofit called For 3 Sisters in July of last year. Three of Moneymaker’s sisters died from breast cancer within a two-year span: Vicky in 2008 and Valessa and Penny in 2010. The pain he felt at the time was equaled only by the guilt.
“I wanted to fix her. I wanted to save her life,” he said of Penny, who lived with his family before she died at 57 years old.
After the rough patch, Moneymaker found inspiration from a three-day Susan G. Komen walk that made a pit stop at his fire station. The women he met sparked his rapid and unexpected rise as a national symbol for co-survivors. It’s been as much a healing process as it has been a whirlwind adventure, a rare tale of overcoming grief that began with only a pink T-shirt and some store-bought pajama pants.
“I try to stay humble. After all I’m just another fireman on the street doing my job,” he said. “I never thought I could represent the cause this big or this well.”
