Fallen Heroes Day Celebrates Lives Of Maryland's First Responders
TIMONIUM, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland is unique in that it's the only place in the country where a day is set aside to honor those who have died working on the front lines of public safety.
Fallen Heroes Day is held every year at the Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.
It's the day no one wants to qualify for. To attend, someone you love has died while serving the public in Maryland.
This year, Charles Schwenz will attend his 17th Fallen Heroes Day ceremony.
Schwenz remembered one of the worst nights of his life in 2001.
"We were just getting ready to go to bed for the evening and my front doorbell rang. At the front door, [was] the Queen Anne's County Sheriff and the Department's pastor," he said, "and the pastor for the police department was there and I thought, 'This is not good.'"
It wasn't.
That's the night he lost his son Jason, a Queen Anne's County deputy. Although his shift had just ended, Jason heard a call for a Centerville officer who needed backup with a call for a noise complaint. Soon, a mentally ill man had shot and killed both police officers outside of a trailer.
In the hallway of Schwenz's home in Howard County there is a portrait of Jason. He passes by it every day.
"It was devastating, I was in shock," he recalled. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing and still can't."
Since his death, Jason's family has attended the Fallen Heroes Day ceremony. Schwenz said it helps.
"Every year, we attend the Fallen Heroes ceremony -- and every year there is a family there going through the same thing we went through," he said.
This year, Schwenz has been asked to address everyone in attendance.
"It helps you. It helps you to feel. It helps you to understand, and it's rewarding to know that others are with you and you're not by yourself," he said.
His son wanted to be a police officer since he was six years old.
Knowing Jason died in the line of duty matters to his family, but even so many years later, his dad still breaks down when he talks about his son.
"Jason is at peace......whew.... and that's what he wanted...wanted to be a police officer," Schwenz said.
Among the five people being honored this year is Baltimore City Police Detective Sean Suiter who died under suspicious circumstances in west Baltimore.
Other honorees include: Master Firefighter Rescuer Charles "Rick" Gentilcore, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Sander B. Cohen, Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal, Sergeant Mujahid A. Ramzziddin, Prince George's County Police Department and Assistant Chief Christopher C. Pryor, LaVale Volunteer Fire Department.
The ceremony is Friday, May 4 1 p.m. at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens and is open to the public.
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