FROM THE PHOENIX NEWS —
(Came to me from my friend Brian Curry, he too a man who heroically volunteered as a community fireman when he lived on Long Island, who now resides in Arizona—-thanks Brian for sharing the initial report)
Hundreds of Phoenix police officers converged on a Valley school Wednesday morning in a show of support for one of their own.
The daughter of Officer Daryl Raetz, who was killed in the line of duty over the weekend, graduated from kindergarten today. Because her father couldn’t be there, her Phoenix Police Department family showed up to stand in his stead and celebrate Tatum.
“She had 300, 400 parents up here for her this morning,” Officer James Holmes said. “It was absolutely amazing. It was bittersweet and it was a bit overwhelming for all of us.”
Officers lined the sidewalk clapping for Tatum and congratulating her as she and her mother walked into the school for the graduation ceremony. Inside the auditorium, it was standing room only with a sea of blue in the back and along the side of the room.
—end
As a side note—-AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED–not one officer sat in a chair in the already overcrowded ceremony but, rather, lined the back wall.
God Bless all who serve and watch over the children of lost comrades.
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