Page 36 - January 2020 FOP Magazine

Sharing joy while missing those who couldn’t be home for the holidays
n BY DAN CAMPANA
n PHOTOS BY JAMES PINTO
Six-year-old Aileen Vasquez couldn’t contain her smile when Santa and his helpers handed her a neatly wrapped present in front of a roomful of cheering and applauding officers at the Eighth District.
The gleeful smile somehow grew larger as a second, third and even more gifts were piled up for the daughter of Seventh District Officer Omar Vasquez, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. Her glow abated only slightly at the thought of having to wait to rip into the packages.
Her mother, Laura Vasquez, couldn’t help but smile herself, as she and other families of Chicago Police Officers on military deployments enjoyed the Operation Santa festivities.
Relatives of seven officers — Vasquez, Michael Malkowski, James Labbe, George Artiga, James Kotowski, Michael Kelly and Joseph Cistaro — took part in a breakfast, Santa’s delivery of presents and the warm feelings of camaraderie.
Omar Vasquez has been on a Special Forces tour since Au- gust 2019, so missing the holidays has been difficult for his family. His wife cherished the opportunity to be in a room packed with others facing the same emotional challenge.
“Obviously, it’s hard because of the holidays. [The event] makes it a lot [easier] to deal with. It’s nice to see everyone
From left, Judith, Anthony and Danielle Malkowski — the children of Offi- cer Michael Malkowski, who is currently deployed to Saudi Arabia — with the big man during Operation Santa festivities at the Eighth District.
together,” Laura Vasquez said, as she sat with her husband’s mother and sister.
While Michael Kelly of the mounted patrol is serving his country in Afghanistan, his wife, Alaina, is juggling a lot with
36 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2020