Page 21 - FINAL WEST FOP BlueNote 2017 July August

2017 Memorial Service and Other Information
By Lynn Wilson - State Secretary
Wow. The month of May held the 36th Annual National
Peace Officers Memorial Service and the 29th Annual Candle-
light Vigil in Washington, DC. I have had numerous folks ask
me if I have ever attended these events. Up until this year I
had not. It was amazing and humbling at the same time. All
of the thousands of family survivors, law enforcement officers,
and other attendees that showed their care, respect and sup-
port for the hundreds of peace officers who had lost their lives his opening remarks and hosting. It was very exciting to see
due to their chosen profession of wanting to make their com-
munities a better and safer place.
As the sun went down on Saturday, even though there were
dark clouds in the sky, the setting sun was shining brightly on
the Capitol dome. We listened to the speakers, some of whom
included Past US AG John Ashcroft, Secretary of US Home-
land Security General John Kelly, and US Attorney General
Jeff Sessions. 394 names were read one by one for the Roll
Call of Heroes as thousands of candles began to light on the
mall lawn. Research is constantly being done to be able to
identify those fallen heroes from the past who had yet to be
recognized for their ultimate sacrifice. This year, 21 were
added to the Wall from the 1800’s with Gilbert Burchfield, Sa-
line County, Arkansas SO, EOW on 7/15/1847 being the old-
est. Dozens from New York were added this year due to the
aftermath of 9/11 finally being considered as LOD deaths.
Seven names were added to the Memorial Wall this year
from NC. The two officers that lost their lives in 2016, Timo-
thy Brackeen of Shelby PD and John Isenhour of Forsyth
County SO. Four from NC Wildlife Resources Commission,
Amos Bordeaux EOW 1962, Grover Quinn Jr. EOW 1949, Jo-
seph Whitaker EOW 1936, William Holler EOW 1951, and
Charlie Dunn of Scotland Neck PD EOW 1910. Monday was
the Memorial Service. We were lucky enough to get FOP VIP
tickets which made it possible to sit up close to the front. We
got up early and arrived at the Capital lawn by 8am. The
service didn’t start until 11 but there was plenty to watch
until then. Most attendees go and see the end product, but we
had a small window into how much happens in the
background to get to that point in time. A giant shout out and
The Setting Sun shining on the Capitol Dome. A View of the Washington Monument at sunset A View of the Survivors during the Memorial Service.
from the site of the Candlelight Vigil.
www.ncfop.org
thank you to Lodge 18 member Greta Philbeck and the Memo-
rial Committee for all the hard work, and headaches that
comes with organizing, scheduling, and security for every-
thing and everyone to make this wonderful event happen.
Great job by, and thank you to, FOP National Chaplain, our
own NC Chaplain Phil Wiggins, for his opening and closings
prayers. Also to FOP National President Chuck Canterbury for
in person and listen to the very pro law enforcement comments
from the President of the United States Donald Trump and
Vice President of the United States Mike Pence. The heart-
breaking part was then watching the families being escorted
forwards to place their flower on the Memorial Wreath. There
were family members, from the elderly to little babies, wearing
pins or carrying photos of their lost loved one. Even some of
the children dressed top to bottom in matching uniforms as
their parents. The twenty-one gun salute and then Echo Taps
will give you goose bumps. If you have never been, Police
Week is a must do for your bucket list.
A quick note about the changes in the Legal Defense
Plan.
• Non-working retirees may decline coverage and opt-
out of the national Legal Aid Plan.
• All Affiliates will remain with full coverage under
the NC State FOP Legal Defense plan.
• Working retirees and Full-time Active members will
be transferred to the National Legal Aid Plan for Civil
and Criminal coverage. Administrative cases will re-
main under the NCFOP Legal Defense plan.
• The National Legal Aid Plan has a cost of $64 per
person each year. This will be payable in full with the
fall per capita payment.
• You may view the Legal Aid Plan booklet at
www.fop.net under the Legal Defense tab. Also
available is Moonlighting coverage and HR 218cov-
erage that members may obtain on their own directly
through Hylant.
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