Utah heroes remembered

Memorial dedication today to honor 126 killed in line of duty

Law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting Utah's communities will have a memorial officially dedicated on the west grounds of the Capitol in their honor today.

Several dignitaries are expected to be in attendance, including Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, members of the Utah Supreme Court and Elder Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as well as a large number of spectators and hundreds of family members of the fallen officers.

But for some, the most emotional moment of the dedication came before today, before any of the crowds gathered, before most of the media's cameras were on, before all the pomp and circumstance and before many of the dignitaries arrived.

All this week, families and loved ones of officers killed in the line of duty have traveled to Capitol Hill, where they were handed a copper plaque with the name of their fallen officer. The plaques were then inserted into the new memorial wall where they will stand for generations to remember those who gave their lives keeping Utah safe. At the top of the wall are the words, "In valor there is hope."

"We're so happy they did it that way. It makes it more personal," said Carolyn Jones, whose husband, Garfield County sheriff's deputy Dave Jones, was shot and killed outside Escalante in 2003 after pulling over a suspected drunken driver.

On Friday, a color guard stood watch as families approached the wall after their names were called. They posed for pictures with their plaque and then placed the plaque into the wall.

Families are hoping that the memorial will become more than just a wall of faceless names. They hope the public will remember there is a story behind each plaque.

Organizers Friday told the story of Lee Isbell as his family was called to the wall. Working as a city marshal for the Richfield Police Department, Lee was shot and killed in 1921. A generation later, his name was forgotten, even by his own department. It wasn't until many years later through the work of Robert Kirby, the memorial's historian, that Lee's name was uncovered.

Also Friday, Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank joined the family of detective Percy Clark as his plaque was secured to the wall. Clark was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1973.

Carolyn Jones placed her husband's plaque on the wall Friday. Before her name was called, she said she expected the moment to be very sentimental.

"It will be emotional, more emotional this time than the first time because I know what it represents," she said.

When people come to see the plaques, Jones said hopefully they will see more than just faceless names. She hopes they will see the names and think about fallen officers like Fred House, shot and killed during the Singer-Swapp standoff in Summit County in 1988; or Roosevelt Police Chief Cecil Gurr, who was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute in 2001; or Salt Lake police officer Jim Faraone, who was hit and killed by a car while helping with a traffic accident on the freeway.

Recent comments