Fallen Heroes

Release Date: Friday, May 1st 2009

As part of National Police Week, the annual Candlelight Vigil will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial in the 400 block of E Street on Wednesday, May 13 at 8:00 pm. 
 
The ceremony recognizes the service and sacrifice of America’s federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. Last year, 133 officers were killed. Their names, along with 254 others who died in previous years but whose line-of-duty deaths had been lost to history, were recently engraved on the Memorial’s walls. The names now total 18,661, dating back to the first known death in 1792. US Attorney General Eric Holder will be the keynote speaker at the Candlelight Vigil, which will be shown for the first time on a free, live videocast.
 
The newly inscribed officers’ names will be read following the ceremony, one of many events taking place Downtown during National Police Week. For more information and to register for the videocast, visit www.nleomf.org/NPW2009.