By Brian L. Willison, Chair, Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial

A short ceremony at the beginning of the Third Annual Sauk County Law Enforcement Memorial Golf Outing on September 21, 2000 marked another milestone for Wisconsin law enforcement and your memorial organization.

Representatives from the Wisconsin Professional Police Association (WPPA), the Dane County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association (DCDSA, a WPPA local), the Wisconsin Chiefs’ of Police Association (WCPA), and the Wisconsin Sheriffs’ and Deputy Sheriffs’ Association (WSDSA), met at Devil's Head Golf Course in Merrimac just before noon. The purpose of the gathering was to present donations from what I have dubbed "the final four" to the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial project. The donations — $5000 from WPPA, $5000 from DCDSA, $5000 from WCPA, and $10,000 from WSDSA — total the final amount needed to retire the debt on the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial located on the State Capitol grounds.

To fully appreciate the significance of this event, it is important to review the history. Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. was formed in 1990 with an overriding goal of remembering and honoring all Wisconsin line-of-duty deaths. This goal is outlined in our purpose statement. WLEM was organized for the purposes of: 1) building and maintaining a monument to honor Wisconsin law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty; 2) organizing and conducting an annual memorial ceremony at the State Capitol; 3) providing support and information to law enforcement survivors, officers, agencies, and communities who suffer a line-of-duty death; and 4) providing a means for citizens to express their appreciation and support for Wisconsin law enforcement officers.

Following seven years of planning, the memorial was built and dedicated in June 1998. Now after five years of active fund-raising, contributions from countless donors, the generous gifts listed, and over $433,000 later, the project debt is finally paid. The vast majority of funds came directly from the Wisconsin law enforcement community. Each of you who had a hand in it can be proud of your part in ensuring the names of our Wisconsin law enforcement heroes — your fellow officers, friends and partners — will be forever etched in stone and will always be remembered and honored on our State Capitol grounds.

The memorial contains the names of 215 Wisconsin law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. At least four more names will be added in 2001. They are the names of the four Wisconsin officers who have died in the line of duty this year. They are Deputy Edward R. Hoffmann of the Marinette County Sheriff's Office, Sergeant Todd J. Stamper of the Crandon Police Department, and Deputies Sung Hui "Sunny" Bang and Ralph E. Zylka of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

On behalf of the WLEM Board of Directors, current and future law enforcement survivors, and all those who pass by and remember, I want to thank each of you, but especially "the final four" — WPPA, DCDSA, WCPA, and WSDSA — for your generous gifts and continued support of WLEM and this memorial project. It was built "In honor of those who have died; Dedicated to those who live and serve."