Page 31 - May 2018 FOP Magazine

Gilbert McGuire worked with her colleague, David Rockway, to commission local artist Tim Kuncis, who created a painting to allow her to pay it forward. She then worked with Under- wood to make the special presentation at the memorial service.
“I wanted Mrs. Bauer to know that the heart of this City and the heart of every police wife is with her,” Gilbert McGuire de- clared. “Being part of the blue family is the most beautiful thing because of the allegiance and loyalty.”
The sobering reminder of every police spouse’s fear – that their wife or husband will not come home – could easily have been the new piece of granite added to the Lodge 7 memorial this year. The number of names of fallen officers has necessitat- ed the extended stoneware.
But the reminder of the sacrifice has also become the icon of tribute. Tribute is the most impacting, inspirational and im- portant part of the memorial, and it is the most important part of the job for the Department’s Special Activity Unit. The unit tends to families of fallen officers, and it is a privilege for those assigned to it.
Lodge 7 member Judith Hodges was one of the Special Ac- tivity Unit officers at the memorial service, and she articulated what it means for her to be part of the ceremony.
“In ’98, when I started, I thought to myself that if I knew any- body on the wall – if I lost friends or partners on the job – I would do everything I could to establish their name and keep it going forever,” Hodges confided.
The 2018 ceremony perpetuated a special feeling for Dolores Simanek. That shot to the face in 1968 left Eddie partially para- lyzed, unable to fully use his hands and struggling to even eat. The Department wanted him to take a disability retirement, but he found a way to contribute by handing out radios and doing other office tasks.
When Eddie finally did fall to the injury on Aug. 28, 2001, he
From left, Susan Gilbert McGuire and David Rockway present a plaque to Erin Bauer honoring her husband, Commander Paul Bauer.
was forgotten for a time. Mercado took her father’s star when she came on, and when she was getting ready to retire in 2017, she began writing letters to get Eddie’s name added to the wall. The CPMF responded first and added his name to the Gold Star Memorial on Sept. 14, 2017, just in time for Dolores’ 90th birth- day.
“That was the best birthday party ever,” she announced. “For what we lived through, the happiest days of my life were here and at the memorial. When I die, I’m going to heaven, and I will be able to tell him.”
Mercado was 9 years old when her father was shot. That
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