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386th service members commemorate Peace Officers Memorial Day

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Bowcock
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Members of the 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron held a memorial service during a formal retreat ceremony at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Thursday afternoon to honor Peace Officer Memorial Day and National Police Week.

Airmen, Soldiers, and Marines gathered to memorialize those law enforcement members, both military and civilian, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to the people and the United States in the line of duty.

On Peace Officer's Memorial Day here, military members from around The Rock came to pay their respects, honor the fallen, and lay a memorial wreath at the base of the American flag during the retreat ceremony.

Events like this help us to remember the sacrifices made by people like Tech. Sgt. Jason L. Norton, Staff Sgt. Brian McElroy, and Airman 1st Class Elizabeth N. Jacobson. These Airmen were defenders assigned to tenant Expeditionary Security Forces Squadrons under of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing that were killed in the line of duty during the global war on terror.

"To us, it means that we get to honor our fallen on one day a year; one day that's set aside truly for them," stated Master Sgt. Daniel Magas, Central Command Military Working Dog Hub NCO in charge. Magas is from Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania and deployed from Edwards Air Force Base, California in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day. In 1994 the proclamation was amended to have flags flown at half-staff across the United States, a symbol to show a nation in mourning.

During National Police Week, people from across the U.S. and around the globe gather in Washington D.C. to commemorate brothers and sisters in arms and meet others who share in a common brotherhood of police officers.