PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — “Their loved ones' sacrifices have not been forgotten.”
Former Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Joe Sullivan shares the importance of the families of the city's fallen first responders having the opportunity to memorialize them, as they did at various ceremonies and events Wednesday.
Fire Captain Lewis Mortimer was one of 14 fallen heroes remembered at the annual Living Flame Memorial Service in Old City’s Franklin Square.
Mortimer died in the line of duty in 1954.
“He was 38 years old. He left my 32-year-old mother with four little kids,” said his daughter, Eileen Mortimer Sichel.
She said this is always a heavy day for her, but even more so this year.
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“My two older brothers are not here for the first time, because they passed last year,” she said through tears.
But even without her brothers, Sichel made it through the ceremony.
“I feel like I have to be here, to stand up for my father and remember the love,” she said. “I want them to know my father and [know] what they can about him.”
Bonnie Schuster’s uncle, Jim Cummings, was also honored at Franklin Square after he died in the line of duty in 1968.
“We were told that [officers] had gone after bank robbers, and he had pursued them and ran after them,” said Schuster. “They believe that after he was back, he was doing his paperwork and he died of a heart attack.”
Schuster said Cummings was also at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed, leading to the U.S. entering World War II. Since his children no longer live in the area, she represents his family at the event that remembers fellow fallen heroes.
“I was always told that when they stopped saying their name, they stop honoring them and remembering them,” she said. “So we come here and make sure that they're all honored today.”
Hundreds more gathered in the Spring Garden area to honor the families of fallen officers at the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5’s survivor’s luncheon.
Nine of those officers have fallen in recent years, including some due to COVID-19.
“My brother was 12, and my little sister was five, and within this first year of losing him, it’s been a rollercoaster,” said Tamira Tokely, 21, who lost her father Erin Tokely to COVID-19 complications. He served on the force for 24 years.
“It was heartbreaking, just because everyone else had to kind of stay closed down to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, [but] with him and a few others, they didn't have a choice. They had to step up and just do what they had to do for the safety of others. It was a tragic experience.”
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She said she’s grateful for the event, which showed them that they have support and an extended family, a vital piece to the healing process.
“It's important because these families really take solace,” added Sullivan.
“The pain never goes away. It's there during every special event, every special moment, every new grandchild, every wedding. So that's why this is just so important.”
Lodge President John McNesby said that because of COVID-19, it has been two years since they have gathered to honor the families of officers who died in the line of duty.
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Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw was on hand for both events. She said that after two years without these ceremonies, such memorials are needed now more than ever.
“I think it’s even more so important, just given in the last couple years, we haven’t really been able to memorialize in this fashion,” said Outlaw.
“It’s important for survivors and loved ones to remember that their loved ones’ legacies will never be forgotten.”
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