Forty years ago, on May 16, 1986, loved ones, neighbors, and law enforcement officials gathered for the first-ever Fallen Heroes Day at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, paying their respects to several first responders who lost their lives while protecting the community in the early ’80s. There, groundskeepers had set aside burial spaces for the Fallen Heroes and their spouses.
Local singer and educator Bonnie Kabara played a crucial role in developing the first memorial service, composing an original song to honor police officers and firefighters who sacrificed their lives.
“I was close with a police officer who was killed in the line of duty, so I wrote a song called ‘A Great One Such as You’ in his honor and performed it at the ceremony,” Kabara remembers today. “The following year I wrote ‘Each One a Fighter’ for the firefighters, as well”.
Though Kabara has not performed at Fallen Heroes Day in a decade, she has chosen to sing at the ceremony once more this year as a way to honor its 40th anniversary.
The milestone commemoration of the nation’s only statewide observance that honors all sectors of the public safety community—including Maryland police, firefighters, corrections officers, and emergency medical and rescue personnel—will take place at the gardens’ Fallen Heroes Memorial this Friday, May 2 at 1 p.m.
For the families of these Fallen Heroes, this is more than just a ceremony, but instead a sacred tradition. Monica Gant is the mother of Rodney W. Pitts III, a firefighter who lost his life battling the tragic Linden Heights Avenue blaze in Northwest Baltimore in October 2023. Pitts was honored at last year’s Fallen Heroes Day, and this year, Gant has made the decision to volunteer, hoping to provide comfort to other grieving families.
“My son gave his life doing what he loved to do, which was help others and be a hero,” Gant says, reflecting on Pitts’ legacy. “We want everyone to know these Fallen Heroes were more than their careers. They also had families. Dreams and passions, too, just like everyone else.”
This year’s memorial will honor the sacrifices of five police officers—Deputy Sheriff Corey D. McElroy, officer Daoud A. Mingo, chief Kevin E. Morgan, agent Davis G. Martinez, and sergeant Brenda J. Lowery—as well as four firefighters: Michael T. Warfel; Deputy Chief William F. Goddard, III; Lieutenant Richard E. Blankenship, Jr.; and Lieutenant Christopher J. Higgins.
The ceremony will open with a procession of honor guard units from across the state, as well as mounted units and motorcycle police. Emceed by Baltimore broadcaster Mary Beth Marsden, who has participated for more than 30 years, the program will also include remarks by Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, Kabara’s performance, wreath-laying and a bell toll for each honoree, and a 21-gun salute and flyover.
The family speaker for the event will be Lynne Parry, the newly appointed President and Executive Director for the Maryland Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). Her husband, detective Mark F. Parry, was killed in the line of duty in 2002, when his vehicle was struck by a drunk driver.
To provide even more comfort and support for families, teams from Crisis Response Canines will also be in attendance with their trained therapy dogs.
“Our job is to make these families feel as consoled as possible and comforted with warmth during these hard times,” says Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens president Jack Mitchell. “Most of us don’t think twice about safety when walking out of our homes. We can thank first responders for that. The least we can do is honor them and their families.”
Each family in attendance will be given an honorary plaque, saluting their loved one as a Fallen Hero and commemorating the selfless lives that they lived.
“I was blessed to grow old with my wife and meet my grandchildren, but many of us weren’t so lucky,” adds Ed Schmidt, a retired Baltimore Police Captain. “The Fallen Heroes will never be forgotten.”