More About Police Week

"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived."

~Vivian Eney Cross~

I'm sorry - I know I wrote about this yesterday but it's still very much on my mind and there are some things I need to say - mostly for myself so please be patient with me.

Pattie, a Cook County, IL Deputy and my "partner-in-crime", lost her partner in the line of duty in November, 1992.  His name was added to the National Police Officer's Memorial in Washington in 1994 and Pattie has not missed a year at Police Week since.

That first year, she noticed that many of the fallen officers had no one there to remember them so the following year, she began leaving a long-stemmed red rose for some of those officers.  I believe she said it was only about a dozen roses that first year.  Pattie would do a rubbing of the officer's engraved name, write a short sentiment beneath the rubbed name and then leave it on the panel with the rose.

In 2000, I made my first visit to National Police Week where Pattie and I met in person for the first time (we met on the Internet a couple of years earlier and had become good on-line friends).  It's hard to explain the feelings that went through me as I sat through not one but two very emotional ceremonies.  The night before, it had rained so the annual Candlelight Vigil was postponed until the next night - right after the annual Irish ceremony.  Either of those ceremonies is quite poignant alone but to receive a double whammy?  Shell shock - that's what I experienced and what I've learned every other 'first-timer' experiences.

There were some other emotional situations that happened immediately after Police Week that year that I won't go into here.  Maybe that's why it touched me so much when Pattie asked me to help her with the roses the next year.  I couldn't say 'yes' fast enough!

The following year, we were up to two dozen roses.  We noticed that some officers had printed placards with their photos on them.  I told Pattie that I could make something like that for our officers.  She thought it was a great idea so the following year, we went with our officers printed on plain paper.  We were SO proud of what we'd done - until it rained and washed all the ink off the memorials we had so lovingly placed on the panels.  That year, we added laminating to our to-do list.

Then we realized the roses were withering after a day or so in the hot sun.  Next came silk roses - blue, we decided, in honor of the Thin Blue Line.  They looked wonderful with our newly laminated memorials.  By now, we were up to almost a hundred.

Pattie had been in touch with a police officer from Strathclyde, Scotland who was in the early stages of starting a group to support survivors of fallen officers in the UK.  His group was modeled after our own Concerns Of Police Survivors (COPS) and was even named UK COPS.  That year, he brought a contingent of Bobbies from the UK and, again, Pattie had a brilliant idea.  We should do something for the Brits to show our support for them.  Our "international lion" was created.  I think there were about three memorials that year. When the Bobbies happened to pass by and we just happened to be standing there, they all immediately kneeled and removed their helmets.  Pattie and I instinctively reached for each other and watched in awe at the tribute these wonderful men were paying to their fallen comrades. The first International Tribute and this year's:

The International Lion became part of our annual tribute and has grown to over 50 memorials that include officers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland and the UK.  One year, it included an officer from the Hong Kong police.

After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, Pattie (the catalyst for ALL of this!) again had a wonderful idea.  We left a memorial for Sirius, the only K9 killed in those attacks.  The following summer, my hometown lost a K9 in the line of duty so our K9 tribute began.  The first year, we had a cheap poster board with about 10-15 names and photos of our four-legged heroes.  Pattie made a bouquet of dog bones and put them in a mason jar beside the poster.  It was simple but noticed.

The following year, we used a tri-fold poster board and a wreath made of dog bones.  We had learned our lesson about the rain, so we laminated the front.  You know what happened next - right?  It rained and soaked our board from the back.  The board was bent and torn but, by golly, our photos were in tact!  We now laminate all the way around.  We've also grown to TWO boards that are looked for and expected to be there each year.  This year, someone was standing there waiting for us when we put them up and told us she was upset because it wasn't there the day before and thought we weren't going to do it this year.  Well, the day before, we were busy putting out 308 memorials for the US and 57 for the International Lion.  We had to keep stopping because of rain but we got it all done.  This is our first K9 Tribute and the one for this year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year, we began our own prayer ceremony in which we remember the fallen and honor the survivors.  The panels have become too crowded to add the roses so we give them to the survivors with the suggestion that they keep them as a remembrance to their hero.

You might ask why Pattie and I do this year after year and why it means so much to us.  Pattie lost her partner.  It could have been her at any time.  I look at the widows and know that could have been me at any time.  We empathize and sympathize with those who grieve.  We are so grateful that we can do this each year and so proud that we might offer some little comfort to those who need it.  What we do is nothing in comparison to what they lost.  God willing, we will be doing this for years to come.  Our only prayer is that someone will pick up the gauntlet after we're gone.  May these heroes and their survivors never be forgotten.  Amen.