2008 Candlelight Vigil- AKA "You clean up well"

The 2008 candle light vigil was the 20th annual vigil held in honor of fallen law enforcement officers and their survivors.   Busses bring the survivors up E street to the Memorial and are greeted by a color guard at the reflecting pool, an Honor Cordon on either side of the reflecting pool and lines of Unity Tour members waiting to escort them.  The Color guard and Honor Cordon rotate out periodically and are staffed by Honor guard members from across the country.  The Aurora Police Department proudly represented their city and the State of Colorado.

The vigil is scheduled to start at 8, so we were assigned to gather at 5:15.  We got there around 5, only to discover that a few busses had already delivered survivors.  Fortunately there were Officers there to escort them.  Still, not too many people around at 5.  

The Unity Tour members who rode in from the south escort survivors on the east side of the reflecting pool while members who rode with the northern chapters escort on the west.  I broke with tradition by shifting over to the east when the bus carrying Zach's family pulled in.  Artie from Florida, who also rode in Zach's memory, and I escorted Zach's parent's to their seats.  

I had tried to prepare Zach's dad for what to expect when they arrived for the vigil.  From the look on his face, it was clear that my words were inadequate.  I pointed out that the hundreds of Officers standing at attention as we walked by were there to honor Zach and acknowledge the family's loss.

As the busses continued to arrive, the Memorial grounds began to fill and the ceremony got underway.  
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the names of all the Officers engraved the the wall this year were read.  181 from deaths in 2007 and 177 from past years.  The names are read by State and Officers salute as the names from their State are read.  I saluted as the names of Douglas Byrne and Zachariah Earl Templeton echoed over the din of the crowd.