Our Yearly Florida Adventure-Part 1

This years Florida memorial trip was a adventure for sure. We decided to take in some enjoyment along with the Memorials. I will share those later this week.

EOW 5-16-1961

Remembering the lost of a love one can be a sad time. I met some new survivors this year as well as some that are attending for the first time since the death of their love one. This is a hard thing to do, that is attending a yearly memorial for the Love One so long gone. However, you see some of us do not deal with the lost until years or decades later. We think we are okay with it. That is not the case. some lose their family member early in their life. The thought is, Just move on and you will be fine. That is not so, for I found out the hard way. I was seven years old when my grandfather was murdered and was not allowed to go to the funeral. Was told Grandpa died, you will be staying with friend while Dad and I go to the funeral. Mostly it was because of the distant we were away for the Murder site. The other reason was that they thought we were too young to understand. Of course the thought was children do better at moving on. Now we know this is not so.

Anyways, the first time I attended a survivor function, was a very emotional time. I was in my forties. I cried so hard, didn't realize that impact his death had on my life. Death is something that we should allow ourselves to deal with, no matter what age. Today is different then the 1960's were. There are survivors support all around. I am better at the emotional part now.

The yearly Florida trip has help me a lot in this process. It has also helped my child, she is honoring her Great Grandfather, who she never had the opportunity to meet. You see that was taken away from her by a man who decided to kill a Police Detective. A man who was doing his job protecting the citizens. Oh for your information the murder did get the electric chair and pretty fast at that. For he admitted to killing my grandfather on purpose and with no remorse.

We will continue to make the yearly trip. I still have the warm feeling of my Mothers Love and know she would approve of this continuing adventure to Florida. My hope is that she is with him now in Heaven. She had to live a long life with out him. My 93 Grandmother is still on this earth. she also is living without the Love of her life. His son, my Uncle followed in his footstep and is now retired from the Police force. However still working in the Law Enforcement area. Our lives go on however we stop one time a year to show our love and pay our respect. We also get our support to the other survivors.

In Memory Of The Fallen......

EOW 5-16-1961

Today is the start of Police Memorial Week. We are so blessed in this Country to have a Police Force made up of Men and Women who want to service our land. They sacrifice a lot for their jobs; Family time, Sometime Marriage, Sleep and most of all sometimes their Life. In 1962 President John F Kennedy signed a Presidential Proclamation that set aside May 15 as National Peace Officers' Memorial Day.
Every year we remember the fallen Police Officers on this week. We need to remember they did not die in vain rather as heroes. Protecting our nations rights to a peaceful life. We live in a nation that is a safe place because of their service. Every year some Officers die doing their duty. I for one know that feeling of lost. My Grandfather (photo above) was Murdered by a robber in 1961. That time was much different than today's. It was a much harder time for crime, but a quicker time for justice. Police murderer were punished swiftly . Today we wait for the shooter to be dealt with and sometime it takes years to achieve. The wait can be stressful for the survivors.

Even though we have gone through many decades since the death of my Grandfather, the feeling for the family left behind are still solemn. Every year we remember tour Loved One and Help the family to continue to heal, with the help of caring people. It is very hard when the killer is still awaiting conviction. We need this time to focus on the sacrifice of the love one. To have a down time and come together with others who can give the support needed. We all are in the same boat. Having organizations that orchestrate these days is greatly appreciated.

We attend the Memorial services in Florida at the American Police Hall of Frame Museum. There is a service on Friday evening and the names are read, candles are lite and prayers go out for the families left behind. Our current and retire Officers give support to the families left behind. In the following days there are some fun things planned to give the families a sense of uniformity as well as giving back to the families left behind. Consider it a gift for the sacrifice their love one made for our country.

You can give to this organization to help out their programs. They have activities throughout the year for the survivors. You can check out their link in Blue above. Or if you have lost a love one in the Police force feel free to let them know so your family can be included in their nation wide programs. We are all Here to support each other as we live on.