Kingsford, Mich. (WZMQ) – Kingsford High School was the site of a moving ceremony today, as the community came together to honor the brave men and women who have given their lives in service to their community. The Peace Officers Memorial was held in honor of National Police Week, and featured a solemn roll call of the fallen officers, with a memorial bell rung for each of the 86 names listed.
Officers from around the U.P., as well as Wisconsin and Canadian bordering agencies, attended the ceremony that was held to honor those fallen, and their families. The Kingsford school choir sang the National anthem and “Danny Boy”, and the KHS band and drumline also participated with musical offerings to the ceremony. Chaplain Paul Kelto of the Negaunee State Police post gave an invocation and benediction to the ceremony.
However, there was one officer’s story that had never been told publicly, until today. Judge Mary Barglind took the podium to share the tragedy of Deputy T. Lincoln Edwards, who lost his life while attempting to rescue a woman from the Menominee River in February 1957.
“This deputy was Florence County Sheriff’s Deputy T. Lincoln Edwards. I say his name now because he has not been publicly honored for his bravery, heroism, and sacrifice prior to this,” Judge Barglind stated. “This story has been known to his friends and family, but not the public.”
The ceremony also recognized the cooperation between agencies that makes the U.P. special.
“We spoke about Deputy Lincoln Edwards, who was a Wisconsin deputy helping a Michigan Police Officer, and killed in a river that borders the two states. We continue to cooperate like that. The breadth of officers that we have here today, represents that kind of cooperation that we continue to foster and continues to happen here in the U.P.,” commented First Lieutenant Jeremy Hauswirth of the Iron Mountain State Police post.
First Lieutenant Jeremy Hauswirth of the Iron Mountain State Police Post said that the story of Deputy Edwards was one that demonstrated how the different agencies, like those that cooperated on a rescue at the Michigan border, still cooperate today.
During the ceremony, Judge Barglind hoped that the students were listening to all the speeches, but particularly the story told about Deputy Edwards. She hoped that the students would continue to honor the legacy of fallen officers.
“To show them our respect, and our appreciation for their sacrifice is really to be kind to one another, to cooperate with one another, to show unity and just to be good citizens,” remarked Judge Barglind during an interview.
Judge Barglind and the family of the fallen Deputy T. Lincoln Edwards are scheduled to be in Madison tomorrow, where he will be inducted into the Wisconsin Peace Officer’s Memorial.
