ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
The National Honor Flag, a priceless treasure which travels around the country to honor fallen heroes, will accompany the bodies of the two fallen police officer killed in the line of duty last week in Hoonah. The flag arrived Friday for its first Alaska visit at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, also paying tribute to the late U.S. senator. From there a procession took it to the Evergreen Memorial Chapel to be laid next to the officers’ caskets.
Many in uniform wanted to pay tribute to Sgt. Anthony Wallace and Officer Matt Tokuoka, but most won't be able to make it to their burial in the Southeastern village -- so Friday was their only chance to say goodbye.
“It is a tremendous honor -- it's the first time it's been on Alaskan soil,” said APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker.
Aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 83 is a national treasure minted in tragedy. Anticipation always seems to accompany the honor flag’s arrival, although sorrow follows closely behind.
“I think it was a real honor to stand in the line and to see all of the brother and the sister officers that were killed in the line of duty,” said APD Det. Kem Semeniuk.
The honor flag flew over Ground Zero at the World Trade Center in New York City during the recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Since then, it's traveled around the country to honor fallen firefighters and police officers. It's now been brought to Alaska to pay tribute to Wallace and Tokuoka, after they were shot in an ambush by John Marvin Jr. last Saturday. Marvin, who surrendered to authorities after a weekend standoff, is now in custody and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Fellow officers from every branch of law enforcement showed up in uniform Friday on their days off, knowing this was their only chance to pay respect to the fallen officers.
“The number just kept growing, so we just kept getting more people calling saying, ‘We are going to be there,’” said Airport Police officer Julie Hellrung. “Different agencies would say, ‘We are bringing 10,’ ‘We are bringing 20,’ and they would show up with 40.”
The procession carried the flag to Fire Station 1 Downtown, from which it was airlifted into the heart of the city to be hand-delivered to the chapel.
“It has a lot of symbolism,” said Alaska State Troopers Lt. Craig S. MacDonald. “I've been with law enforcement for 29 years and I've attended a lot of law enforcement funerals and buried a few of my friends, and each one of these officers was a brother officer -- and the fact that we can honor them that way it just incredible.”
“We need to be there -- we needed to all be there together,” Hellrung said.
After 9/11, the flag lifted depressed spirits with a feeling of resilience, and now again as it travels with Hoonah's fallen heroes it provides comfort in the wake of another tragedy.
The memorial service for the fallen officers will take place Wednesday, Sept. 8, in the Hoonah High School gymnasium.
KTUU.com will live stream the memorial service next week.
Contact Ashton Goodell at agoodell@ktuu.com
