PAX Centurion - January / February 2013

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • January/February 2013 • Page 13 O n December 14, 2012, my day began like most of my fellowofficers, getting ready todoadetail.Mydetailwas onWest Ninth Street which holds an ominous memory for me. I was working the polls on September 11, 2001, when the deadly attacks on our country took place. I mention this because while I was standing directing traffic on West Ninth Street I ob- served a parkedvanwhichhad a bumper sticker that said, “Wewill never forget 9-11-01!” This brought back memories of that day and hadme feelingmelancholy. I remember watching the second plane going into theWorld Trade Center. It absolutely rattledme, like a stabbing pain in my chest. I had to catch my breath and try to process the devastation I had just witnessed live as it unfolded in front of me on the television. I never felt so helpless in all my life.My countrywas under attack! I remember the eerie silence in the sky above as all planeswere grounded to preventmore attacks. My place was securing the polls so United States citizens could exercise their rights to vote. I finally understood what my parents had described to me as a surreal moment when Pearl Harbor was attacked, or when President Kennedywas assassinated. This date and place would forever be etched in my mind. While on my coffee break I sat in my car and listened to the news as the story in Newtown, Connecticut began to unfold. The same horrible feelings of 9-11 all came back.As the day went on the news started updating the fatalities. When I ever heard how young the victims were my heart ached. I texted my wife, who was also distraught and saddened by the story. By the time I got home it was confirmed that twenty children, ages six to seven, along with six adults were murdered. They were shot multiple times by the suspectwho turned the gunonhimselfwhenhe heard police closing in. Another bad memory of being in this location etched in my mind forever. This carnage emotionallywasworse than 9-11 because of the tender age of the victims. As police officers we try sometimes to harden ourselves to the horror that occasionally unfolds in front of us. Formost police officers, if not all, any calls involving children are sensitive.We keep up the facade of toughnesswhen inside our hearts are aching.We are, after all, human, especially those of us who are parents. There wasn’t a person in this country or around the world that did not choke up with emotion upon hearing of this senseless tragedy. Seeing the faces of these little victims and the adults who valiantly tried to protect them put all of us in a somber mood for the holidays. Knowing that twenty empty stockings would adorn these saddened homes in memory of these “LittleAngels” hurt people the most. I have never felt so empty and hollow in all my life. Our heartfelt condolence goes out to the families of these victims.We pray that God has cradled these children toHis heart. In the end it does not matter whether you are Democrat or Republican, for or against gun control. In the end we need to weep for these families who have no tears left to give, and whose hearts have been broken. As a nation we need to mourn and to help mend these shattered lives. A nation mourns By Mark A. Bruno