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Members of Senior Correction Officer Wayne Clark's family
were easily identifiable, clad in blue shirts specially
made for the occasion.
SCO Fred Baker's family was on hand, just as they are present
at Correction Officer Training Academy graduations and numerous
other New Jersey Department of Corrections events.
The families of Sgt. Donald Bourne and Officer Donald Hiles
were among the honored guests, as well.
On the afternoon of May 17, these men, women and children,
along with more than 100 others, gathered on the grounds
of the NJDOC's Central Office for the dedication of a memorial
to the department's fallen officers. The U.S. Department
of Justice provided the department with a grant to fund
the memorial that was matched by this department.
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Commissioner
George Hayman |
"Perhaps all of us can gain some measure of appreciation
of the impact these heroic individuals had on the communities
they were sworn to protect as well as the lives of those
who knew and loved them."
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The memorial itself is an impressive polished black granite
wall, standing four feet high and graced by the following
simple yet eloquent words: "Dedicated to the honor
and memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the
line of duty." Those words are flanked by the NJDOC
shield on one side and the State of New Jersey seal on the
other.
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In front of the wall on which the words appear are bricks engraved
with the names of the 10 officers who have died in the line of duty
since records were kept in 1894. They are:
- Deputy Keeper James B. Lippincott (died March 2, 1894)
- Deputy Keeper Joseph H. Tinney (February 4, 1928)
- Deputy Keeper Frank Butcher (March 13, 1930)
- Officer Victor Viteritto (February 28, 1951)
- Donald Hiles (March 8, 1968)
- Officer George Pazkowski (August 8, 1969)
- Sgt. Donald Bourne (February 28, 1972)
- Officer Fred Baker (July 30, 1997)
- Sgt. Michael Price (April 19, 2000)
- Officer Wayne Clark (January 10, 2006).
The area immediately surrounding the memorial wall includes several
flagpoles and special landscaping.
| As we told the family
members of our fallen officers and others who attended the
dedication, it is our fervent hope that by recognizing these
heroic individuals in this manner, perhaps all of us can gain
some measure of appreciation of the impact they had on the
communities they were sworn to protect as well as the lives
of those who knew and loved them.
Significantly, a few weeks after the dedication, the memorial
wall was visited by Anthony Viteritto, the brother of Officer
Victor Viteritto, who was stabbed to death by an inmate
more than 56 years ago. Mr. Viteritto had learned about
the memorial through a newspaper account of the dedication
and wanted to see it for himself. After sharing memories
of his brother with departmental personnel, he left the
Central Office with the knowledge that, now and forever,
Victor Viteritto is enshrined on a memorial along with others
who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the NJDOC.
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Minutes
before the beginning of the
dedication of the fallen officers' memorial,
a podium and bell were put into place. As
the name of each officer was read aloud,
the bell tolled. |
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