FLETC Hosts Joint Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) held its 31st annual Peace Officers Memorial Day ceremony Tuesday, May 24, 2016, honoring FLETC graduates who lost their lives in the line of duty. The ceremony was a joint observance with other area law enforcement agencies in southeast Georgia, including the Georgia State Patrol, Brunswick Police Department, Glynn County Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Almost 300 FLETC and Partner Organization staff, community members, congressional staffers, FLETC students, and family members of the fallen attended the morning ceremony.
This year, FLETC engraved seven names on the FLETC Graduates Memorial, for a total of 212 since FLETC’s establishment in 1970. The 2015 honorees were United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Special Agents Michael A. Cinco, Chester J. McBride, III, Peter W. Taub, and Adrianna M. Vorderbruggen; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent William C. Sheldon, Jr.; and United States Marshals Service Deputies Zacarias Toro, Jr. and Josie L. Wells. Area law enforcement agencies lost no officers or agents this past year.
Brigadier General Keith M. Givens, AFOSI Commander was the key note speaker at the event. “While ceremonies have been held all across the nation the last couple of weeks to honor our fallen law enforcements heroes, I believe there is no more important place than here at FLETC because it is where it all begins for federal officers and agents, the one place we all have in common,” said Brigadier General Keith M. Givens.
FLETC Assistant Director and Chief Financial Officer Donald R. Lewis was the Master of Ceremonies at the memorial event. FLETC Assistant Director of the Mission and Readiness Support Directorate Marcus L. Hill recited the FLETC graduates honor roll of names, and Glynn County Police Department Chief Matthew L. Doering read the honor roll of 49 names from area state and local law enforcement agencies.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations Academy’s Honor Guard presented and retired the Colors, while agency representatives from the three federal agencies that lost officers placed a wreath at the memorial at the conclusion of the ceremony.
“Today we are honoring seven FLETC graduates whose names are engraved in granite on the FLETC Graduates Memorial as a permanent tribute to them and their sacrifice. We are honored to call out their names in recognition of their noble service in life and their sacrifices,” said FLETC Director Connie Patrick.
For more information and a full listing of the honorees FLETC Graduate Memorial, visit https://www.fletc.gov/fletc-graduates-memorial.
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