Page 32 - FOP May 2019 Magazine

Chicago Lodge 7 Memorial Service
The love and support at the Chicago Lodge 7 Memorial Service bring a smile to faces of Crystal Jimenez (left) and Maria Marmolejo.
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but not open to everyone on a daily basis, which facilitates wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters and brothers and sisters basking in the aura reflecting from the names on the wall.
“They will continue to be remembered long after I’m no lon- ger here and after there is a whole new group of police officers running this Lodge,” the president reminded. “Those names will always be remembered with reverence and dignity.”
Because this memorial continues to add names, Graham wanted members to remember the message between those lines.
“There are always going to be new people that we can never forget,” he said. “We always have to keep that in mind. This is a very dangerous job and people are willing to accept the danger and answer the call to protect this city. And that’s important.”
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Officer Kenyatta Gaines salutes as she sings “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson praised the Lodge 7 Memorial Service as an opportunity to get up close and personal with the family members of the officers who were lost last year. He hoped it was an opportunity for all to see why of- ficers are at their best when honoring a brother or sister whose life was taken.
Through all the tragedy of last year, the superintendent has repeatedly articulated the golden rule of remembrance. And he saw it permeating the FOP Hall on this day.
“I think that we have a profound viewpoint of when an offi- cer’s life is taken in the line of duty, because we know that if cir- cumstances had been a bit different, that could have easily been
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32 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2019