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irginia
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apitol
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onnections
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pring
2013
8
Public Safety Memorial
By Secretary Marla Decker
Preparations are underway for
construction of Virginia’s Public Safety
Memorial, the official state monument to
law enforcement, first responders and other
public safety personnel. The memorial is
scheduled to be built at Darden Garden
between the General Assembly Building and
the gates to Capitol Square in Richmond.
The memorial will honor volunteer and paid
public safety professionals who have died in
the line of duty. It will also serve as a constant reminder of the service
and sacrifice of those who make up our public safety community.
As of March 2013, 791 public safety heroes have died in the
line of duty in Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Safety
Foundation (VPSF), the non-profit organization coordinating
memorial fundraising and construction. The names of these men and
women will be engraved on the wall that will serve as the centerpiece
of the memorial.
Public safety is the primary responsibility of government.Virginia
is blessed with a long history of citizens willing to volunteer or make
public safety a career. Our public safety professionals dedicate their
lives to keep us safe and protect our property and liberties. They
provide life saving care, protect us, and ensure the preservation of the
rule of law. These public servants deserve our respect, admiration and
thanks. When one of these true heroes makes the ultimate sacrifice
and is lost in the line of duty, as a Commonwealth we must recognize
that sacrifice, pay tribute, and forever honor their memory.
The site of the memorial, which is currently identified by a raised
planter with grass and shrubs, was selected because of its prominence
and because it will provide a daily reminder of the sacrifice of these
public safety professional to all of those who visit our Capitol and
General Assembly Building. In addition to the wall of names, the
memorial will include a water fountain and garden, providing a
serene space for visitors to the wall to reflect and pay their respects.
In May of 2012, Governor McDonnell joined the VPSF, families
of the fallen and representatives from state public safety organizations
to unveil the memorial design and launch the fundraising campaign
to support its construction. Since that time, VPSF has raised just over
half of the $1.6 million construction cost. The entire project budget,
which includes funds to provide for maintenance of the memorial
upon its completion, is $2 million.
“We’ve been pleased with the response from donors over the past
year, and we look forward to finishing the memorial and dedicating
it to these Virginia heroes,” said Memorial Fund Co-Chair and VPSF
Director Jerry Kilgore, a former Virginia Attorney General. “I think
all Virginians should support this effort. These men and women
provide for the safe communities in which we live, work, and raise
our families.”
Major donors to the Memorial Fund include Motorola Solutions
Foundation, Altria Client Services, Employees of the Virginia
Department of Corrections, Mary Morton Parsons Foundation,
Dominion, Stafford County Board of Supervisors, Stafford Sheriff
Charlie Jett, The Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad, Virginia State
Police Association, Harrisonburg Fire Department, National Shooting
Sports Foundation, NRA Foundation, Virginia Sheriff’s Institute and
Governor Bob McDonnell. Additionally, more than $300,000 has
been raised from public safety agencies including 28Virginia sheriffs
and theVirginia State Police Association. Donors have an opportunity
to be acknowledged with an engraved brick at the memorial sight.
For more information on the memorial including a complete roster
of men and women being honored there, visit
. To
speak with someone about supporting the Memorial Fund, contact
VPSF at 804-648-6299x1004.
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