Along with the police officers who have died in the line of
duty, the Police Memorial Day ceremony at the University of
Pittsburgh at Bradford Monday honored two Bradford City Police
officers who lost battles with cancer this year.
Chief Dan Songer of the Pitt-Bradford police, who hosted the
event, asked those in attendance to remember Sgt. Byron “Tim”
Davis, who died Jan. 23; and Sgt. Dan “Moon” Close, who died May
1.
“They died while serving their department and their community,”
Songer said.
The ceremony also paid tribute to three local police officers
who died in the line of duty: Patrolman Steve Jerman of the Kane
Borough Police, who was gunned down Feb. 20, 1999; Sgt. David
Distrola of the Bradford City Police, who died in an accident Dec.
23, 1989; and Patrolman Carl Whippo of the Johnsonburg Borough
Police, who was shot to death Jan. 17, 1984.
In the opening invocation, Rev. Leo Gallina of St. Bernard
Church reminded everyone that Police Memorial Day was about
remembering the sacrifices of the officers who gave their lives in
the line of duty, serving “in the capacity to make our community
safer and a better place to live.”
Chaplain Ken Lauder of the Bucktail Lodge 96 thanked all police
officers for keeping “our streets and homes safe day and night, and
prayed for all officers’ safety.
“Unite them safely with their families after their duty has
ended,” Lauder prayed.
Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford, welcomed
those in attendance and expressed his “deepest sorrow and regret to
the families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.”
He also gave a statistic that caused several people stop to
reflect – “we’re commemorating … the more than 100 (nationwide) who
will die before the end of this year.”
State Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, talked about honoring all
officers – those who have served and those who still serve.
“Today we honor all those who form a human barrier between
justice and chaos,” Rapp said. “As private citizens we owe them a
debt that can never be repaid.
“They deserve our respect, our gratitude and perhaps most
importantly, our prayers,” she said. “Each of them gave their lives
in the promise of a better tomorrow.
“Our police officers need to know how much they are valued and
appreciated,” she added. “Not just today, but every day.”
Officer Rich Harsen of the Bradford City Police, president of
the William Hanley Lodge 67 Fraternal Order of Police, said that
every 53 hours, a police officer is killed.
He commended all law enforcement for “their willingness to make
the ultimate sacrifice each and every time they put their uniform
on.”
He read from a poem entitled “Just A Cop,” written by Montey
Ritchey, which refers to a funeral procession for a police officer,
and the reactions of those who see it.
“Some chuckled at the passing cars. Some shed a silent tear.
Some people said, ‘It’s stupid, all these dumb policemen here. How
come they are not out fighting crime? Or in a doughnut shop? Sure
is a lot of trouble, For someone who’s just a cop.'”
“And when he got to heaven, St. Peter put him at the top. An
angel asked him, ‘Who was that?’ And he said, ‘Aw, just a
cop.'”
Sgt. Phil Hoh of the St. Marys City Police, president of the
Bucktail Lodge, spoke of attending a state memorial service March
1. A policeman’s widow spoke, and read a poem that Hoh shared. The
poem, called “The Monument” and written by Sgt. George Hahn,
retired from the Los Angeles Police Department, speaks of the
impact of seeing the Policemen’s Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The monument lists the names of the officers killed in the line
of duty. The last line of the poem reads, “Dear God, let my name be
the last.”
Also speaking at the ceremony were Rev. Eric Voght, pastor of
the Sacred Heart Church and chaplain for the St. Marys police; and
Rev. Theodore Marconi, pastor for St. Leo’s in Ridgway and chaplain
for Pitt-Bradford police.
Near the end of the ceremony, a wreath was laid at the base of a
memorial to officers Whippo, Distrola and Jerman and a musical
tribute followed, leaving much of the audience brimming with
emotion.
James Donahue of Federal Correctional Institute at McKean played
“Amazing Grace” on bagpipes; and Paul Fleming of FCI-McKean and Ben
Harsen, son of Officer Rich Harsen, played “Taps” on trumpets.
Backstage at the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall, a
firing squad offered a 21-gun salute in memory of the officers who
have died.
