As a Police Officer What’s Your Memorial?

Yesterday was Memorial Day here in the United States.  A holiday that was created to honor our valiant veterans who gave their lives in military service to our country.  According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs the Memorial Day Holiday started to honor the veterans of the American Civil War.

“Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.” Continue reading

Silent Tribute

It was cloudy, windy and a little chilly as officers and families from around the state of Colorado came together today at the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial to Officers Killed in the Line of Duty.  As the crowd listened to Colorado Governor William Ritter and U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Troy Eid praise the actions of this year’s additions to the memorial wall, a lone piper played amazing grace and 219 white doves were released into the sky in tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the people of Colorado since it became a state of the union.

The icy wind was a reminder of the harsh reality of the job of peace officer but the children, spouses and family members of those who gave their lives in service was an even more powerful testament to the legacy of sorrow that never leaves a when a peace officer it taken from this earth. Continue reading