First responders honored in Windsor Mill ceremony

WINDSOR MILL, Md. — First responders were honored Friday morning at King Memorial Park in Windsor Mill during a ceremony marking National First Responders Day.

The event drew police, fire and EMS personnel, families, and students from nearby schools. Twenty-two agencies contributed color guard, and uniformed first responders traveled from across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Friday, Oct. 30 marked the fifth time King Memorial Park has hosted the ceremony.

"These ladies and gentlemen get up every morning, 365 days a year, 24/7, go and put themselves in harm's way," Erich March, president of King Memorial Park, noted to the Friday crowd.

This September marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks; the crowd honored first responders lost that day, as well as those lost this year.

"Each name etched in stone represents a life dedicated to something greater than. The work that each of them performed, it represents someone who did not think twice to move towards danger to be of service," Col. Michael A. Jackson, superintendent of the Maryland State Police and the event's keynote speaker, said in the venue's Memorial Garden for Heroes.

King Memorial Park says it has served the area's African American community for more than 50 years and describes itself as the largest African American-owned cemetery in the United States.

The Memorial Garden for Heroes is dedicated to maintaining the memory of first responders.

"There's names we may recognize and there's some that we may not recognize, but we're here to honor them today. We know that behind every name in this Memorial garden, there is a family," Jackson said.

Jackson's parting message to those gathered was to take care of themselves and their families: a reminder that the toll of the job extends beyond the work itself.

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