I recently had the pleasure of attending a brief ceremony at VFW Post 1963, during which U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Michael Gavaghan donated a special American flag to our local veterans – a flag that flew on a KC-10 Extender plane from the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
It was such a pleasure to meet Sgt. Gavaghan and to thank him for his donation to VFW Post 1963 – and for his service to our nation. Sgt. Gavaghan’s flag is now on display at the VFW, and it serves as a proud reminder of all that our nation’s military does for us, day in and day out.
I also had the honor of attending a ceremony on Aug. 26 at our local Police Officers Memorial at 26th Street and Landis Avenue, where the Sea Isle City Police Department hosted a gathering in honor of Officer Michael “Mickey” Cullinane, a devoted member of the SICPD who died in the line of duty in 1992 while rescuing a construction worker from a pit that had filled with toxic gas – just one day after Officer Cullinane had gone down into that same pit to rescue a different worker the day before.
In attendance were several members of Officer Cullinane’s family, Councilman J.B. Feeley, former Mayor Mike McHale, Deacon Joe Murphy from Saint Joseph Church, numerous retired police officers, many of our current officers and other welcomed guests.
Each time I pass the memorial at 26th Street, I am reminded of the difficult job that all police officers have, and how they can never take anything for granted because they never know when they will be in harm’s way. My hope and prayer is that all police officers are able to return home to their loved ones at the end of each shift – but sadly that is not always the case.
