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Agents, officers mark Police Memorial Day

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Dan Heaton
  • 127th Wing Public Affairs
SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. --  Federal and local law enforcement officers paused Friday to honor the sacrifices of their colleagues who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. More than 130 law enforcement officers died while on duty in the U.S. in 2014, said senior agents of the U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

"Each and every day, law enforcement officers serve and protect the communities of our nation," said R. Alan Booth, acting chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol's Detroit Sector, which is headquartered at Selfridge.

Booth made the remarks during a ceremony to mark Police Officers Memorial Day, May 15, at the base. Booth noted that the police officers create a fellowship in their duty that transcends the distinctions between federal, state, local and tribal levels of law enforcement. The ceremony included adding a single rose to a memorial wreath at the Great Lakes Air & Marine Wing, a division of CBP, also located at Selfridge, and the playing of tap as several dozen officers from various agencies stood at attention and rendered a salute.

"This is a tribute not just to the job that officers are able to do, but to the fact that it is a job they are willing to do," said Tim Wiley, chief of the New Baltimore Police Department. "It isn't just a job, it's a calling."

During the ceremony, the names of all officers, from the five Midwest states that are included in the Border Patrol's Detroit Sector, who died in the line of duty, as well as that of two Border Patrol officers who died on duty in the American southwest, were read aloud.

"Ceremonies and speeches will never fill the void of those who have paid the ultimate price, but it is important that we remember and honor their devotion to duty," said Booth.

The Detroit Sector of the Border Patrol is responsible for 863 miles of the international border between the U.S. and Canada.

The Border Patrol and the Great Lakes Air & Marine Wing are among more than 40 federal agencies and military units that have operations based at Selfridge.