Crime & Safety
Names of Fallen Officers from Minnesota Added to National Memorial
A final roll call for police officers from around the country, including a St. Paul police officer who died in 2013, will take place Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
By Todd Richissin
Tens of thousands of law officers from the United States and beyond its shores are gathering in Washington for National Police Week, part of an annual pilgrimage to honor the fallen among their ranks.
The focal point for the week is the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, a courtyard bordered by two gently sloping, 304-foot-long, three-foot-high walls that bear the engraved names of more than 19,000 officers killed in the line of duty.
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Most of the names added this year are officers who died in 2013; others are officers whose sacrifice previously had been lost to history.
This year, 286 names were added to the wall, including St. Paul Police Officer Joshua Phillip Lynaugh, who died of a heart attack in 2013 during a foot pursuit, joining the 235 names of fallen officers from Minnesota already engraved.
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Among those from Minnesota whose names were added:
William M Bombard, Deerwood PD, 1951
Norman Helmer, Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, 1912
Louis Joachim, Faribault PD, 1895
David J Shipley, Faribault PD, 1883
National Police Week is an annual event in Washington, DC, a week of color guards and sad salutes, of help for surviving families and the promise to, as an engraving on part of the wall implores, "Respect. Honor. Remember."
On Tuesday, thousands will gather at the memorial for a candle-light vigil, where names will be read in a final roll call for the fallen. Taps will sound and officers and their families will gather to touch the names on the walls, to lay wreaths and flowers, and to remember.
