Page 36 - May 2018 FOP Magazine

Jenny Van Vegten, daughter of fallen Chicago Police Officer Andre Van Vegten, received condolences from Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
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As the survivor spouse speaking at the Illinois Police Officers Memorial Ceremony on May 3 in Springfield, Retired Detective Robert Hehl shared the story of losing the love of his life after seven and a half years of marriage. He told of his 3-year-old son Brendan being left behind.
Hehl’s recitation certainly riveted the thousand or so police officers who came from across the state to attend one of the most illustrious memorial events in the country. Of those, a couple hundred came from the Department. Another 200 were CPD recruits taking a day from the academy to have an unpar- alleled learning event. Another hundred or so were state troop- ers. And Hehl, of course, spoke directly to the families of the six Illinois officers lost in the line of duty in 2017.
But his tale was not one of despair; rather, a message that accentuated the spirit and the magnitude of the memorial.
“I share my story with others who have lost loved ones in the line of duty and especially new survivors in hopes that it gives them some degree of comfort in knowing that they are not traveling this path alone,” Hehl consoled. “Also that life, though never the same, will normalize over time. And that there is a future.”
What Hehl experienced and learned in the wake of his trag- edy can make all the difference for survivors and all officers. Having to raise a toddler is a monumental task at best with two parents who are both on the job. But as a single dad, Hehl quickly realized what makes a difference for anybody who has ever walked his path.
“Friends and family reached out to me like the hand of God to help me raise Brendan,” Hehl related. “I had 27 years on the job at the time. I had no idea there were so many wonderful people out there. I was able to survive our ordeal only with the generous support of the Illinois State Police family, the 100 Club, the (Concerns of Police Survivors) organization, my own department and so many others. And true to their word, you are all still with me 20 years later.”
As a survivor and police officer, Hehl has learned how fellow officers take on looking after families of the fallen as their duty. He knows that his fellow officers helped him turn his perspec- tive from, “I felt intense anger, but with no other target, it was with God,” to “I came to realize over time that the 10 years I had with Erin were a gift, and Brendan is my link to Erin.”
Even though he retired in 2002, Hehl also sent a message to empathize with all officers in attendance about the return on investment of working most holidays, missing family gather-
36 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2018
Denise Domagala, wife of fallen Chicago Police Officer, received condolenc- es from Governor Bruce Rauner.
ings and their children’s recitals and sporting events. His sen- timent of thanks was not just for all they did to help him deal with losing Erin, but to support their daily ordeals of being disrespected by the sheep they are protecting from the wolves; for seeing, hearing and smelling things that are the essence of nightmares; for working long hours for short pay.
“To the active officers here today, you are our heroes,” Hehl announced. “In this climate, I wonder why you put on that star and gun each day and go into the fray. But thank you for doing so. We cannot show or say our gratitude enough. You are filled with the most noble of qualities.”
The Illinois Police Officers Memorial was filled with exam- ples of CPD officers standing by survivors, standing up for po- lice and highlighting the duty of honoring their own. The pres- ence of the 200 recruits standing at attention across the street from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception where the day began with an interfaith service helped create that aura of honor, as did the recruits filling 20 pews in the church for the service.
Special attention came from two Lodge 7 members charged with a special detail at the memorial ceremony. Brian Collins, who is with a tactical team in 010, stood up with the wreath recognizing Chicago Police Officer Bernard Domagala, who in September 2017 finally succumbed to a gunshot wound to the
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