It was a beautiful day for the Lorain County Police
Memorial Service on Ely Square. The
Lorain County Chief’s Law Enforcement Officers Association sponsored a very
moving ceremony to honor fallen officers that gave their lives in protection of
the citizens of Lorain County. Also
honored were current and retired officers for their years of service and the
families that support our officers. Since
1883, a total of 16 officers have paid the ultimate price for our safety. Sincere appreciation is extended to the
Elyria High School Band and Madrigals, Keynote Speaker Smoky Everett of the
United States Secret Service and all of our participating Lorain County law
Enforcement organizations.
Please
join me in saluting our fallen officers:
James
A. Kerstetter, Elyria Patrolman – 2010
Robert
Perez, Trooper, Ohio Highway Patrol – 2000
Kenneth
M. Tomaszewski, Deputy, Lorain County Sherriff – 1979
Francis
Smolka, Vermilion Patrolman – 1978
Robert
Woodall, Oberlin Patrolman - 1971
John
P. Palmero, Deputy, Lorain County Sheriff – 1964
Michael
J. George, Deputy, Lorain County Sheriff – 1961
Edmund
G. Smith, Wellington Patrolman – 1957
George
Kirk,
Patrolman, Lorain – 1944
Howard
B. Taft, Patrolman, Elyria – 1942
Franklin
J. Strohl, Deputy, Lorain County Sheriff – 1930
Charles
C. Deal, Lorain Patrolman – 1925
Fred
J. Webber, Lorain Patrolman – 1923
Rupert
Becker, Amherst Night Watchman – 1916
Spooner
C. Crapo, Rochester Village Marshall – 1905
George
Brenner, Wellington City Marshal - 1883
See Below: Mayor Brinda’s Tribute
Fallen Officer Memorial Service
May 16, 2013
From this humble town square of
Elyria, Ohio, men and women of every generation have sworn to protect this
City, this county and this nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Today, we stand here, among memorials to many of them, to honor the men and
women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice – and to offer encouragement and
inspiration to those who are still fighting the battle every day for peace and
security, life and liberty. Our
communities are strong, because you make them safe.
By standing here today, we honor all
of the 700,000 plus sworn law enforcement officers serving our nation. They serve in small sleepy towns and in
teeming metropolises. They serve on the country back roads and on Elyria’s
Broad Street. They are the thin blue
line. On this day, we pay special
tribute to the points at which that line became even thinner and penetrable. We
gather today to pay homage to the law enforcement officers who sacrificed their
lives so that we may live in safety. We only need to look most recently to
Boston and Newtown to be reminded of how important the law enforcement
profession is today.
Look backwards in Elyria, Ohio to
March 15, 2010 and we are again reminded that the age of heroes hits very close
to our own door steps. Officer Jimmy Kerstetter was living his two lives – like
the burden that every police officer ferries.
He was busy being a husband to his devoted wife Tammy, a father to his
three beautiful daughters, being a good neighbor, paying bills, and dealing
with love and life and loss like the rest of us. And then one day he put on his uniform,
kissed his wife goodbye, and marched into the breach; that thin blue line as
the only barrier between us and every unthinkable threat or unknown danger
lurking around the next corner. Jimmy
Kerstetter, and every officer, walks that line fully aware that you may not
make it home that night to hang your hat, take off your badge and switch lives
again to listen to your families share with you the events of the day. I am humbled as I think about the sacrifices
made – everyday.
We honor officers like Jimmy
Kerstetter, not only because of how they died, but because of how they lived.
His legacy and example feed your drive as police officers to make the world a
better place for our families, our citizens, and strangers and visitors we will
never meet. You are men and women who
adopt a code of conduct and do your duty simply because it is your duty, to
your dying breath. And you will never
ask for gratitude. You don’t ask for our respect, our humility, or our
help. You run into danger, when many of
us are running away from it. To our
current police and other law enforcement officers, and to the family of James
Kerstetter and our other fallen officers, please believe when I say on behalf
of the City of Elyria that the words “thank you” cannot ever come close to
conveying how blessed we feel for sacrifices made to protect and better the
lives entrusted in your care.
And to the families of both fallen
and serving officers, we pray for you, we support you, we admire you and are so
very grateful to you for being the wind under our heroes’ wings in this
life. May their spirits be the wind
under your wings as you forge ahead.
Words are of cold comfort at a time
like this. No speech or ceremony can bring back those who were dearest to
us. Yet, just as you were always with
them when they walked that thin blue line, on the beat or patrolling the
streets, know that they will always be with you -- wherever you may be.
We honor the service and sacrifice
of our nation's fallen law enforcement officers not only for the sake of those
that have departed, but as a reminder to all of us that remain. Winston
Churchill once said, "A medal glitters but it casts a shadow." And
what is a shadow but a moment when the sun is blocked -- a moment when our
lives are a little darker. The shadow of a death weighs heavily upon our soul
-- but we know that the gleam of their shining legacies will light the way to a
more peaceful, safer tomorrow – in Elyria, Lorain County and beyond. God bless our law enforcement officers, our
communities, and the United States of America.
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| Peace Officer Memorial - May 16, 2013 |
