Thousands Gather in Washington, D.C. to Honor and Remember Fallen Officers (2004)
Thousands of flaming candles lit the sky Thursday night as family members and friends filled the inner circle of The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., establishing a solemn mood; honoring those who died in the line of duty.
This year, 362 new names were inscribed on the walls of the memorial. Of that number, 145 officers made "the ultimate sacrifice" in 2003. To remember those fallen officers, The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) sponsored the 16th Annual Candlelight Vigil, held at judiciary square.
Thousands of survivors, family members, friends and fellow law enforcement officers surrounded the memorial in the hours before the ceremony, looking for the names of their loved ones inscribed on the walls. Adorned with roses, blue ribbons, pictures, teddy bears, poems and anything else special to the officer and the family, the wall holds the names of more than 16, 500 officers who died serving their communities.
Loved ones gathered pictures and "rubbings" of the names of their officer, some crying, and some standing solemnly, all there to honor and remember those they lost.
"My uncle was an inspiration in my life," said Robert Aguilar, a survivor whose uncle, Sgt. John Aguilar of California"s Santa Ana Police Department, died of leukemia following repeated exposure to chemicals while on duty in 1998. "He was always here for me and I needed to be here for him," said Aguilar. Along with Robert Aguilar, 25 other members of his family were present at the vigil, as well as officers from his department. Like the Aguilar family, the family of Melvin Lisojo, an officer with the Newark Police Department who was among the 145 officers who died in 2003, was 28 strong. "He"s gone, but not forgotten, "said Melvin"s brother Rene. "Now his smile will light up heaven."
Shelia Herring, of the Norfolk Police Department in Virginia was killed on January 16, 2003 during a shootout at a local bar. Her family, including her twin sister, daughter, mother and nephew attending the vigil to pay tribute to a woman her nephew said was "always smiling." He was wearing a t-shirt with his aunt"s picture spray-painted on its front and back, doing just that.
Along with family members lining the walls with flowers and tears were other members of the law enforcement community, there to support their brothers and sisters who died doing what they continue to do everyday. David Hardy, an officer with the Burbank Police Department in California rode his bicycle, along with his partner, from Ground Zero to the memorial in honor of a member of his department, Mathew Michael Pavelka. Pavelka died November 15, 2003, when Hardy says he was "ambushed;" shot while assisting another officer.
Having a locker right beside Mathew's, Hardy considered the fallen officer "a friend, a police officer, and a real courageous, heart-charging kid." Before the beginning of the actual ceremony, survivors were escorted into the center of the memorial by other officers. Wearing blue t-shirts with the names of their loved one"s departments and badges that held their names, as well as shirts which contained photographs, those left behind to remember were lead through a straight line of officers down the middle of the memorial to their seats.
"We will never forget." "Being around survivors from all over the United States"we had no idea how much it would touch us." Those were the words that echoed through the memorial as the ceremony began, with tapped reflections from survivors who had attended the vigil in years past.
"Carved on these walls is the story of America," said Craig Floyd, Chairman of NLEOMF, before the presentation of colors, national anthem and powerful invocation from the Reverend Paul Clifford. "Oh God, what"s happening here?" was the question asked and answered by Reverend Clifford. He voiced his understanding of what the members of the audience had to have asked themselves following the news that a loved was killed in the line of duty. However, he said, "What"s happening here tonight is remembrance and love, pure and simple."
Those in attendance were not only there to remember those who were killed just last year, but those officers who were killed years ago. Officers like Watchman John Osborne, an officer with Cleveland, Ohio"s Marshals Office who died on December 1, 1853. Floyd said Osborne would be "forgotten no more" as he joined the "proper place of honor" and "sacred" ground that he called the "eternal gathering place for heroes here in the nation"s capital."
Also in attendance were board members of NLEOMF, congressmen and senators, members of Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) and Attorney General John Ashcroft. A special guest, former Congressman Mario Biaggi, 86, a New York City police "legend" who led the effort in Congress to establish the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, was there, never missing a vigil despite his age and health problems.
The night"s Keynote speaker, Attorney General John Ashcroft, thanked those who "secure liberty, from sea to shinning sea on a daily basis." Ashcroft said that law enforcement officials make the difference between cultures who understand law, liberty and freedom.
``Tonight is a night that reminds us that we must never take our life or liberty, our peace or our security, for granted," Ashcroft said. ``The men and women we honor here gave their lives so that these values will endure.'' Ashcroft said that he is able to see first-hand the dedication and courage public safety officials possess and said that the first priority of government is to make sure these officials get the proper training and equipment they need to protect America.
The attorney general went on to tell a story that is all too familiar for the members of the audience. Jason Pratt, an officer with the Omaha, Nebraska Police Department was killed on September 11, 2003, during a routine traffic stop. Ashcroft was given Pratt"s SWAT team medallion by his widow, Stacy Pratt, who asked him to carry it in remembrance of her husband"s life. Ashcroft held the medallion up, "To honor his example," as well as the example made daily by officers across the country.
"State and local law enforcement are the hands and feet of protecting the American people," he said to applause of the thousands who agreed with his words.
Following the Keynote address was the presentation of the "Distinguished Service Award," given to Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Senator Campbell pushes the National Police Week Resolutions through the Senate, but was also instrumental in the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. He called attention to the officer in Maryland, Michael Clinton, a 29-year veteran who, along with other officers from the Montgomery County Police Department, was fired on by suspects. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, and Campbell said that because of it, "His name, fortunately, will not be engraved on this wall."
Right before the lighting of the candles, Linda Hindergardt-Soubrious, the National President of COPS, who lost her husband in the line of duty, said some encouraging words to the audience, and thanked the founding member of COPS, Susie Sawyer, who received a standing ovation. She called the survivors "beacons of hope and healing" and lit the first candle along with Attorney General Ashcroft.
As the numbers of lighted candles grew across the audience, all the way to the back of judiciary square and to the survivors and officers who lined the streets, musical selections were sung by survivor Anthony King and Trooper Thomas Cavallo. A tribute to the "Thin Blue Line" which contained a laser show, followed, with lines of blue light spreading over the survivors who held their candles up in remembrance and honor of those they lost.
A final musical tribute, by Detective Randall Snider of "Stand Tall America" encompassed the atmosphere of the entire night, as families stood tall, solemnly holding candles. The bagpipes concluded the lighting of the candles right before the names of the 362 fallen officers being added to the memorial this year were read and etched into the walls of what Floyd called the "heroes final resting place."
