RICHMOND, Va. β Virginia will pay tribute to public safety officials who gave their lives in the line of duty in the Commonwealth during a ceremony later this month.
The 11th annual Commonwealth Public Safety Memorial ceremony will take place on September 13 at 2 p.m. at the memorial on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol.
The ceremony will also recognize 19 names that were added to the memorial last week, bringing the total number of names on the memorial wall to 983. The memorialized include law enforcement officers, EMS workers, firefighters, National Guard members, and conservation police officers.
Tracy Russillo, president of the Virginia Public Safety Foundation, which oversees the memorial, said it's a mission that's near and dear to her heart. As a former Virginia State Police deputy superintendent, she knew many of the names on the wall personally.
"It is very important to me that we show proper respect to these individuals and pay homage to them," Russillo said. "It's really heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time for the families to be able to see the wall and to understand how important the wall is to the Commonwealth of Virginia."
Among those whose names were added this year Chesterfield Deputy Sheriff Gilliam Cogbill, who had a medical emergency while on-duty in 1965, and Henrico Fire Lieutenant Willis "Buddy" Barnes, who died of an occupational cancer in 2022.
Two names etched side-by-side are the most recent β Virginia Beach police officers Christopher Reese and Cameron Girvin β killed during a traffic stop in February.
Russillo said it means a lot to her that Virginia has a place to honor each of them and the nearly 1,000 like them.
"I think it is incredibly important that we continue to honor these folks, to recognize their folks, and most importantly, not to forget their stories, because every single person on this wall has a story," Russillo said.
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