Father's Day Mass At Gold Star Families Memorial Honors Fallen Officers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Dozens of families came out on this Father's Day to pay their respects to fallen police officers along the lakefront, reports WBBM's Nancy Harty.
They brought folding chairs to sit and listen to the Catholic mass said in front of the Gold Star Families Memorial, said by Police Chaplain Fr. Dan Brandt.
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"Today we gather to recognize the sacrifice made by those 572, many whom were fathers themselves and whose names are inscribed in the walls of this memorial," Brandt said.
Police officer Jim Ade was among those in attendance.
"Not only was my father a policeman, his father, my grandfather, was a policeman and my son is a policeman, he is actually working right now, so it is kind of family thing and we come every year," Ade said.
Michelle Walski-Higgins says her father, a retired police officer who died 18 months ago, would want her and her siblings to be at the memorial mass.
"The police department was his second family, it was very important to him," she said. "Mostly, it was important that we never forget those who died in the line of duty and their family."
The honorary mass dates back 10 years.
