Ahead of the parade marshal, the distinguished gentlemen of the town and the school children in decorated wagons, marched Wilmington’s Finest. On Saturday May 29, 1875, a newly hired police force led the participants in Wilmington’s first Memorial Day Parade on a six-mile, circuitous route through town. Barely three years since their initial hiring, Wilmington’s police officers had now assumed the role of honorary escort and representatives to the town. From that initial outing in reverence of the casualties of the Civil War (then known as Decoration Day), came a role that they would faithfully undertake and uphold to the present day.
The quasi-military status of any uniformed police organization seems to confer by default, its position as a guard of honor. Be it bearing the colors of our Nation or the body of a fallen comrade or service member, the police officers of Wilmington have always stood up to the task. When service members have fallen on the battlefield or townsfolk have tragically passed, Wilmington Police have been there to offer thanks, condolences and reverence. On the tragic loss of the four Fitzgerald Brothers in the Cocoanut Grove Fire in 1942, the entire force of regular and special officers turned out. Chief Harry Ainsworth, in the town’s police car escorted the funeral cortege from the brothers’ home at Silver Lake to St. Thomas Church and then to Wildwood Cemetery. Throughout World War II the department’s officers found themselves repeatedly delivering the news of war casualties to surviving kin. When the fallen were returned home, they were met and escorted to their final resting spot by the police department. In 1943, the town’s military honor roll was dedicated with special recognition of the Wilmington’s Gold Star Mothers. Once again, the police department was present to render honors and provide escorts. In 1952, when Private Antonio Gagnon was returned from Korea, the police department was present to escort him home. Coming full circle, when his memorial was dedicated on the shore of Silver Lake in 2018, the Wilmington Police Honor Guard was on hand to present the colors and render salutes.
Whether it be the solemn Memorial Day services or the joyous Fourth of July celebrations, Wilmington’s officers have always answered the call to be front and center in representing the town and its citizenry. However, a purposeful Honor Guard was for years, not a thought. The small force of the 1940s saw many of its regular and special officers enlist or be called to war duty. The idea of being able to field and Honor Guard was just not possible. Still, officers answered their duties to the town and that to those deserving of such honorific recognition simultaneously. Here are but a few images of some early parades and services. In each instance, the officers are proud of their duty to honor the occasion. Featured are the 1875 Decoration Day program, officers at the 1935 Memorial Day services, the entire force of regular and special officers displaying flags outside of the police station during World War II and Acting Chief Francis Hoban leading the 1947 Memorial Day Parade. In keeping with the long tradition, these duties continue on into our current sesquicentennial year. In part three of this series, the enduring stories of the department’s honor duties will be told. This closing chapter will span from the birth of a dedicated guard in 1987 to the memorials of 9/11 and the dedication of our police and fire headquarters and onto the guard’s rebirth in 2016 and beyond.
RETURN TO 150 YEARS OF STORIES