April 4th, 2018 by WCBC Radio
The 33rd annual Fallen Heroes Day ceremony will be held on Friday, May 4, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. The annual event honors police and correctional officers, firefighters, and emergency medical/rescue personnel who died in the line of duty during the past year. It is the only statewide ceremony in the nation that brings together all segments of the public safety community. Fallen Heroes Day, which is held each year on the first Friday in May, is also an opportunity for the public to show their appreciation for those who risk their lives every day to protect the citizens of Maryland.
The 2018 Fallen Heroes Day ceremony will honor and remember:
*Master Firefighter Rescuer Charles “Rick” Gentilcore, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, April 7, 2017.
*Detective Sean M. Suiter, Baltimore Police Department, November 16, 2017.
*Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Sander B. Cohen, Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal, December 8, 2017.
*Sergeant Mujahid A. Ramzziddin, Prince George's County Police Department, February 21, 2018.
*Assistant Fire Chief Christopher C. Pryor, LaVale Volunteer Fire Department, February 25, 2018.
The 33rd annual Fallen Heroes Day ceremony will begin with a procession of more than 25 honor guard units from across the state, police motorcycle and mounted units, bagpipers, and drummers. Robert Lang, award-winning broadcast journalist, anchor and producer at WBAL News Radio, will be the keynote speaker. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, and Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh will give memorial addresses. Charles Schwenz, the father of Fallen Hero Deputy First Class Jason C. Schwenz who was honored at the 2001 Fallen Heroes Day Ceremony, will speak as a survivor. Television news anchor and radio host Mary Beth Marsden will serve as the emcee.
During the ceremony, the families of the fallen will be presented with a replica of the Fallen Heroes Memorial and a resolution from the Maryland General Assembly. Additionally, one police officer and two firefighters who died in the line of duty before Fallen Heroes Day was established in 1986 will be remembered and their families will be presented with a Governor's Proclamation. The ceremony will pay tribute to two fallen Anne Arundel County firefighters, 16-year old Volunteer Firefighter George Driggers, Jr. and 21-year old Firefighter Patrick Bauer, who both died in 1976 battling a 3-alarm Brooklyn Park rowhouse fire. Also honored will be 24-year old Police Officer Norman Buchman, a four-year veteran of the Baltimore City Police Department, who was shot and killed by an assailant in 1973 in the Northwest District.
“Our hearts are filled with sorrow, but also deep gratitude for their service, as we remember all of our fallen heroes," says John O. Mitchell, III, Chairman of Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. "This year, as always, Fallen Heroes Day provides an opportunity for all of us to take time to show appreciation for the men and women who risk their lives each day when they report to work."
Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens was established in 1958 by John Armiger, Sr. In 1976 he set aside 330 burial spaces for fallen heroes and their spouses. Ten years later, John Armiger, Jr. established the tradition of Fallen Heroes Day. The 70-acre cemetery was purchased by John O. Mitchell, III of the family-owned Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home in Rodgers Forge/Towson, MD in 2007. The Mitchell family is proud to continue the tradition of Fallen Heroes Day. Currently, 71 members of the public safety community are buried at the Fallen Heroes Memorial.
Keeping with tradition, Governor Larry Hogan has issued a proclamation declaring May 4, 2018 as Fallen Heroes Day in Maryland and has ordered flags flown at half-staff at the State House and all state facilities.
The Fallen Heroes Memorial is located within Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, 200 East Padonia Road, Timonium, MD 21093.
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