Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Unveiling Ceremony

This morning an Unveiling Ceremony was held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, to present the newly-engraved names of two officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in 2012: National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson and Prince William County (VA) Police Officer Chris Yung. Family, friends, and colleagues of both fallen officers joined Memorial Fund staff for the special ceremony. 

Memorial Fund Chairman & CEO Craig W. Floyd spoke about the importance of honoring both officers, whose names were unveiled today for the first time, along with all of the nearly 20,000 officers who have died in the line of duty through U.S. history. “Today, we continue the process of forever remembering and honoring these fallen American heroes,” he said, “and reminding the citizens of our nation that we should never take the service and sacrifice of our law enforcement professionals for granted.”

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2013 Unveiling Ceremony, a set on Flickr.

National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis shared some words about Park Ranger Margaret Anderson. “She will always be a part of us, and today she's a part of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial,” he said.

Prince William County (VA) Police Chief Steve Hudson spoke about Officer Chris Yung. “Chris had an infectious smile that impacted everyone he met,” he said. Chief Hudson also told the group of Chris’s daily philosophy of “striving to be sure he did things better tomorrow than he had done today.” “It is incumbent upon all of us to continue to learn from that example,” he said.

These names are two of the 321 being added to the Memorial this week. This includes 120 officers killed in the performance of duty in 2012 and 201 officers killed in prior years. These names will be formally dedicated at the 25th Annual Candlelight Vigil on Monday May 13, 2013 at 8:00 pm.

At the close of the Unveiling Ceremony, family, friends, and colleagues paid tribute to these fallen heroes by etching their engraved names onto paper, as a special keepsake. “May these officers rest in peace,” said Craig W. Floyd, “and may they never be forgotten.”

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