Again this year, communities across the United States will come together during National Police Week-May 12-18-to honor and remember those law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the family members, friends and fellow officers they left behind.
This year, the names of 320 officers killed in the line of duty are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. These 320 officers include 119 officers who were killed during 2012, plus 201 officers who died in previous years but whose stories of sacrifice had been lost to history until now.
All fallen law enforcement officers will be remembered in a ceremony conducted by the Merrill Police Department and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 15, beginning at 10 a.m. in the northeast parking lot of the Safety building, near the Elmer Krueger memorial marker. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.
In tribute to American law enforcement officers and at the request of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Public Law 103-322 designates May 15 National Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is one of only two days each year during which government agencies, businesses and residents are to fly their U.S. flags at half staff.