Law Enforcement Memorial dedication fulfills Wichita officer's dream -- Wichita KS
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14S E 646479 N 4173072
It was a long time coming, but the 2011 dedication of the Sedgwick Co. KS Law Enforcement Memorial recognizes the service and ultimate sacrifice of some Sedgwick Co. law enforcement officers and their families.
Waymark Code: WMH1NH
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/07/2013
Views: 2
This newspaper article from the Wichita Eagle about the new Sedgwick Co. Law Enforcement Memorial explains how the idea for this memorial sprang from one fallen-officer's personal collection of newspaper clippings.
"Law Enforcement Memorial dedication fulfills Wichita officer's dream
By HURST LAVIANA The Wichita Eagle
Published Saturday, April 2, 2011
After Wichita police Lt. Jack Galvin died, his widow found a stack of newspaper clippings while going through his personal belongings.
None were about Galvin, who was quoted often during his 20-year police career. They were about other officers who had died in the line of duty.
As a member of the Police Department’s honor guard, Mary Galvin said, her husband attended many of those officers’ funerals.
She said he often wondered when he came home why Sedgwick County didn’t have a memorial for its fallen law enforcement officers.
Mary Galvin had a front-row seat Saturday when the Law Enforcement Memorial of Sedgwick County was finally dedicated.
About 300 people, including law enforcement officers from across the county, attended the dedication at the northeast corner of Wichita City Hall.
The memorial bears the names of Jack Galvin and 28 other officers from Sedgwick County who have died in the line of duty.
“Our colleagues may be gone, but they’re not forgotten,” Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams said during the ceremony. “They’re forever on duty protecting our families, our friends and our communities.”
Jack Galvin died on Nov. 4, 2000, two weeks after he was injured in an explosion at the Police Department’s bomb range.
Mary Galvin said she made a promise to herself on the day he was buried that she would follow through on her husband’s dream.
In January 2002, she met with Williams and Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed to discuss a proposal.
“I just said, ‘We’re going to get this done,’ ’’ she said. “I don’t think I asked.”
Over the years, she said, she and other members of the committee that planned the memorial faced many obstacles.
She said she remembers the day Bobby Stout, executive director of the Wichita Crime Commission, told her not to get her hopes up.
“He said, ‘Mary, you know this has been attempted on several occasions and never did get off the ground,’ ” she said.
She said she remembers sitting in a meeting on Oct. 20, 2004 — four years after the explosion that killed her husband. It happened on a Friday, just before noon.
“I was watching the clock as it went from 11:40 to 11:45 to 11:50,” she recalled. “I wanted to jump up and scream, ‘Does anybody remember? Does anybody remember what happened four years ago?’ ”
She said she remained quiet but finally broke down when she got to her car.
After more than nine years of planning and fundraising, she said Saturday was a day of celebration.
“This memorial speaks for everything that’s right in this community,” she said.
“It’s a fitting tribute that’s been given a prominent place in this community. . . . It is as beautiful as we thought it was going to be.” [end]
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 04/02/2011
Publication: Wichita Eagle
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: regional
News Category: Society/People
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