20 YEARS OF HONOR AND REMEMBRANCE
by Craig W. Floyd
August 3, 2004

I was visiting with some survivors and supporters at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial recently when a group of about 80 teenagers and their adult chaperones showed up. It is always a special pleasure to see so many young people visit this special monument honoring America's law enforcement officers. I was struck by the reverential nature of their visit. Each of them carried a single red rose in their hand. They gathered for a short introductory talk by one of their leaders and then walked solemnly and with purpose along the Pathway of Remembrance on the west side of the Memorial.

When they stopped at panel nine, they gathered round and after some spoken words and what appeared to be a moment of silence they each placed their roses along the wall. It was a touching scene and Bernie Spence, a colleague of mine, and I were drawn to the group. We introduced ourselves and welcomed them to the Memorial. Then, they told us the reason for their visit. One of the adults in the group, Ken Tomesch, was a police officer from Wisconsin. On December 19, 1995, his coworker, Michael Baribeau, was shot and killed responding to a domestic disturbance call. Ken wanted his young friends to meet Mike and hear his story. They, in turn, wanted to pay their respects and honor this fallen hero.

It was one of the many memorable moments I've experienced at the Memorial over the years . . . a moment many of us could only imagine when we began a journey 20 years ago to build a national monument to those in law enforcement who have served us so well and sacrificed so much.

In June of 1984, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) was established. Later that same year, the United States Congress authorized our organization to build a national monument on federal land to honor the service and sacrifice of America's peace officers.

The man who spearheaded the effort was then — U.S. Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-NY). Appropriately enough, Rep. Biaggi was a 23-year New York City police veteran who had been wounded 10 times in the line of duty. When he retired from the police department in 1965 he was the most decorated cop in New York City history. Rep. Biaggi was joined by two other incorporators of the NLEOMF — U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-RI), and Suzie Sawyer, the founder and executive director of the Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS).

The idea for a national memorial honoring America's fallen police officers was actually first proposed in 1972 by Donald J. Guilfoil, a detective with the Suffolk County (NY) Police Department. It was Detective Guilfoil and the Suffolk County PBA who got the initial federal legislation introduced to establish the memorial. But it was not until 1984, with the formation of the NLEOMF, that the idea started to become a reality.

The legislation to authorize the Memorial to be built was enacted into law in October 1984. The groups responsible for its passage were the same ones who ultimately determined the site for the Memorial, developed the design and then raised the money to get it built. Today, those same 15 national law enforcement organizations are represented on the Memorial's board of directors. They include the following groups: Concerns of Police Survivors; Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; Fraternal Order of Police; Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary; International Association of Chiefs of Police; International Brotherhood of Police Officers; International Union of Police Associations/AFL-CIO; National Association of Police Organizations; National Black Police Association; National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; National Sheriffs' Association; National Troopers Coalition; Police Executive Research Forum; Police Foundation; and the United Federation of Police. There are also four honorary board organizations: the FBI National Academy Associates; the Federal Criminal Investigators Association; the International Association of Women Police; and the International Conference of Police Chaplains. Together, these groups form the governing body of the NLEOMF.

After seven long years of dedicated effort, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial was dedicated on October 15, 1991. But the work did not end there. The NLEOMF board of directors realized that the dedication of the Memorial was only the beginning, not the end, in our mission to increase public support for law enforcement and to promote safety in policing.

In 1993, the Memorial Museum and Visitors Center was established just a short walk from the monument. A year later, the Memorial Fund lobbied Congress successfully to pass a law requiring all American flags to be lowered to half-staff on Peace Officers' Memorial Day. In 1995, one of the great written works devoted to the police profession was published — To Serve and Protect: A Tribute to American Law Enforcement. The following year recorded two more milestones for the NLEOMF: a law enacted by Congress authorizing 500,000 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Commemorative Silver Dollars to be issued by the U.S. Mint; and the initiation of an ongoing "Officer of the Month" program aimed at honoring some of law enforcement's living legends. Each year on May 13, the NLEOMF hosts the annual candlelight vigil, which is attended by more than 20,000 officers and survivors from across the country and around the world. And, of course, the NLEOMF has compiled the most thorough and comprehensive record ever created of officers who have lost their lives in law enforcement service — more than 16,500 line of duty deaths dating back to the first in 1792.

Now, the NLEOMF is working on another exciting new initiative — the establishment of a National Law Enforcement Museum right across the street from the Memorial. Congress authorized the Museum to be built in 2000, and work is now well underway on the design of the building and the exhibits to be displayed. The Museum will tell law enforcement's history in the United States from its origins in the early 1600s with the night watch in Boston, to the war against terrorism that is being fought by law officers across America. The stories of the fallen will be featured in the Museum's "Hall of Remembrance." The Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2011, will cost $80 million and like the Memorial, all of the funds will come from private donations. Recently, Motorola became the lead corporate sponsor of the Museum with a commitment of $3 million.

Thanks to so many individuals and organizations — including American Police Beat; the Police Unity Tour, which has raised more than $1.5 million for the NLEOMF over the years (more than any other police group); and more than three million individuals and hundreds of corporations who have donated money to the Memorial Fund — the NLEOMF has already accomplished much over the past 20 years to honor the service and sacrifice of America's law enforcement officers. But, in reality, we have only just begun in our effort to help build a greater public understanding and appreciation of our nation's peace officers.