By Natasha Lee
The Stamford Advocate
STAMFORD, Conn. — Doreen Dolan was 4 when her father, Officer David Troy, was gunned down during an armed robbery on Main Street 46 years ago.
Yesterday, as Dolan stood near a police memorial dedicated to her father and other fallen Stamford officers, she remembered the flowers that filled her family’s house in the days after Troy’s death. The ribbons from the bouquets became tiny treasures she kept in her closet.
“You remember a lot of things,” a teary-eyed Dolan said. “It always sort of leaves a little mark.”
Families of the department’s four fallen officers were presented with its highest honor during a service for National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day at police headquarters. The day was designated by President Kennedy in 1962.
Yesterday’s occasion marked the first time a family of a fallen officer received the Medal of Honor.
“Certainly, it’s deserving for the sacrifice they made and I’m extremely honored to be the one to give that to them,” union President Michael Merenda said.
The union organized the ceremony and presented the medals.
A concrete wall inscribed with the officers’ names was built and unveiled on the second floor of police headquarters. The wall was inspired by the national memorial in Washington, D.C., where the names of more than 17,500 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty are etched on a stretch of marble walls.
A lion’s head, sculpted by Officer Michael Wagner, hangs above the memorial wall, a symbol of the “courage, strength and boldness of what police officers do every day,” Merenda said.
Police Chief Brent Larrabee said the day is a reminder of the dangers that come with the job.
“That meaning should not be forgotten,” he said. “This week should be dedicated to the survivors and a salute to those who serve and will serve.”
Officers from 30 police departments in the tri-state area marched down Bedford Street in a procession led by a motorcycle and horse brigade, while two police helicopters flew overhead. The march ended at police headquarters on Bedford Street.
Onlookers peeked out from storefronts and offices on Bedford Street to catch a glimpse. Nationwide, flags flew at half-staff yesterday.
Cyndi Lauper, Grammy-award winning singer and Stamford resident, sang the national anthem.
Besides Troy, the other Stamford officers honored were Officer George Kelley who died in a motorcycle accident in 1938; Officer Andrew Schlechtweg, who also died in a motorcycle accident in 1938; and Officer William McNamara, who was killed by friendly fire while responding to a liquor store robbery in 1973.
Copyright 2007 The Stamford Advocate
Officers from New Canaan, Greenwich, Darien and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey read off more than a dozen names of officers from their departments killed in the line of duty.
Georgia Bacon said she was moved by the tribute.
“It was more than I imagined. They’re so reverent and we’re touched,” she said.
Bacon accepted the medal on behalf of her uncle, George Kelley, for whom she was named.
“My mother always said he was her favorite brother,” she said.