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Every year Time Magazine names its person of the year. This has gotten me thinking. In Natchez, if we were to make this designation, who would it be?

80 years ago, on Christmas Day of 1944, my dad Robert W. “Doby” Gibson, ate his Christmas dinner, K-Rations, or as he called it “turkey in a can,” while freezing in a foxhole in France during the Battle of the Bulge. Every Christmas he would retell this story, reminding us that many have served, serving still while we were enjoying the holidays safely at home.

Lately, I’ve been considering how today, on shores far away and even at military bases within our own country, men and women are separated from their loved ones this Christmas, vigilantly protecting the freedoms many Americans take for granted.

In the very early hours of Sunday morning, I was reminded that this holds true also for our first responders. Warm and snug in bed, I was asleep when an alert came from our Fire Chief Robert Arrington that our firefighters were fighting a massive fire at a home on historic Linton Avenue. They fought for hours to bring the fire under control in temperatures well below freezing. Thanks to a vigilant police officer, one of our brave women in uniform who discovered the smoke while most of our city was asleep, firefighters arrived just in time to save neighboring properties from danger. And by the grace of God no one was hurt. I was grateful to talk to our Fire Chief and hear of his praise for our brave firefighters who worked through the night with such professionalism and courage.

Just one week ago I spoke to another of our heroes in uniform, a police officer who was back on patrol just one day after enduring a brutal fight with an accused felon trying to flee a routine police check. Eye witnesses said our officer was lucky to be alive, and I was surprised to hear he was back on patrol so quickly. I’ll never forget what he said in response: “I’m a little sore, but I know they needed me. And it’s my job.”

Over the last few weeks, early in the morning hours or late at night, law enforcement, both police officers and sheriff deputies, have been working tirelessly to make our Operation Safe Neighborhoods a success. Their felony arrests are now approaching 30, and they aren’t letting up – even as the holidays are upon us.

And I’ll never forget how our Public Works crew members saved the day during my first seven months in office when we had two hurricanes and a historic ice storm back-to-back. In fact, just this year, countless situations have arisen where our Public Works crew members and Natchez Water Works employees have been out in terrible conditions, clearing streets after storms and repairing broken water lines.

And let’s not forget our paramedics, 911 operators. County crews, and search and rescue teams. The list goes on and on.

So in considering who in Natchez should be our “Person of the Year” I say let it be our First Responder – all of them. And we can even include first responders for the entire Miss-Lou, for truly we all work as a team.  And while we are at home sharing gifts or fast asleep after eating too much turkey, many of them will be on duty or on call, as they always are. And let us be sure to include our active-duty military. Many are away from home this Christmas – sacrificing being at home in order to keep us safe and our country free.

Christmas is a blessed time of year – a time to remember those we love and the special gift of that first Christmas when God gave His ultimate gift of love to us, the baby Jesus. As we remember the biblical verse, John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”, I can’t help but think of those who serve daily to keep our community safe and our country free.

A special song for my dad and all veterans of WWII was “I’ll be Home for Christmas” — and when he finally came home after the war he kissed the ground. In the words of that song, I offer this tribute to our Natchez “Person of the Year” —- our first responders and military, “Christmas Eve will find me, where the love light gleams. I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams”.

Merry Christmas Natchez! And God bless those who serve. Because Natchez Deserves More.

Dan M. Gibson is mayor of Natchez.