OP/ED: National Police Week a Time For Reflection

By Sharon Deputy Police Chief J.J. McGrath

The week of May 13 to May 19 is National Police Week, a time to honor and remember our country's law enforcement officers that lost their lives in the line of duty.

Presently, there are more than 19,000 names inscribed on the granite walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., 163 of those names were deaths occurring in 2011 and 40 more names have already been added for 2012. Each officer's death is a true tragedy and a reminder of the extreme danger that comes along with wearing the badge.

In 1966, Sharon Auxiliary Police Officer Stratford B. Allen was struck by an automobile while directing traffic at a Fourth of July carnival at Deborah Sampson Park and succumbed to his injuries on July 6, 1966. He was 74 years old at the time of his death. He was a vibrant man, well loved and respected and had volunteered his services to the police department for more than 20 years.

Please take a moment to reflect on the great sacrifice made by Officer Allen and his family, as well as all the fallen officers and their survivors.

I Read His Name upon the Wall

I read his name upon the wall,
My brother in blue who gave his all,
Remembered the funeral, like it was yesterday,
When so many gathered at the site of his grave.

And the bagpipers played "Amazing Grace",
Tears fell like rain on near every face,
The sight of his son standing tall in a suit,
Who tried not to flinch with the rifle's salute.

The mournful sound as the bugler played taps,
And the lump in my throat when the echo played back,
The pain in the eyes of his widowed wife,
Tragically robbed of the love of her life.

Yet still found the strength to sit straight in her chair,
When presented the flag that was folded with care,
And the heads that were bowed in that vast crowd of blue,
Whispered prayers for their brother and his family too.

He had been true to the oath and honored his shield,
Faced danger with courage, refusing to yield,
So others could live, our brother did fall,
And so I read his name upon the wall.