Deployed Airmen honor fallen police officers

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Brian Davidson
  • 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFPN) --  Security Forces Airmen gathered near the flightline at the International Airport here May 13 to honor and remember fellow police officers who died in the line of duty, including military police officers who gave their lives defending freedom in military operations worldwide.

The ceremony was part of Peace Officers Memorial Day, and coincided with a candlelight vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in Washington, D.C. It began with the posting of the colors, followed by lowering the flag to half-staff.

More than 100 Airmen stood in formation listening as the names of 156 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty during 2004 were read.

Senior Airman Brian Mitchem, a security forces Airman deployed from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., who served as master of ceremonies, put the number of law enforcement officers who died in the past year in perspective.

Every 57 hours, a police officer loses his or her life protecting a perfect stranger, he said.

“The name of each officer is placed on the memorial, which includes more than 17,000 names and dates back to the first recorded death of a police officer,” Airman Mitchem said.

Airman Mitchem told the story of 18 security forces Airmen who died in a helicopter crash near the Thai-Laotion border while on their way to aid in the recovery of the USS Mayaguez in 1975.

He also recalled the death of Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Rick Ulbright, who died from wounds received during a mortar attack at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, on Aug. 8, 2004.

The memorial ceremony concluded with the folding of the flag, which will be presented to Agent Ulbright’s family.