ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
Wednesday Hoonah will say goodbye to two of its police officers who were gunned down in an ambush. Hundreds are expected to attend a memorial service for officers Matt Tokuoka and Tony Wallace in Hoonah. Small town police officers, Alaska dignitaries and Hoonah residents will all gather to pay their respects.
A memorial sits directly in the middle of the small town for the officers. For Hoonah residents it’s a painful reminder of what they lost.
Troopers say Tokuoka and Wallace were shot by John Marvin Jr.
“Tony did what Tony was born to do. He died so that others could live, that was what his job was. He knew what being a police officer was and you know he died so that the town would be safe,” said Jamie Brothers, a friend of Wallace.
Friends say the officers were killed in front of Tukuoka's wife and kids and Wallace's mother.
“It's hard. She relives it every day. He was everything to her. Everything,” said Brothers.
Their death's rocked the isolated island community. The men were two-thirds of the town's police force.
Within hours of the shooting state officials and members of neighboring communities flew in to lend support.
"There's not a room in town, so I don't know whether that's state people, dignitaries, media people,” said Bob Prunella, Hoonah interim city administrator.
City administrators are scrambling to find a place big enough to house Wednesday's memorial service.
It's scheduled for the high school gym which can hold about 1,100 people, but city administrators expect more for the service.
“If there's more than that it's going to have to be outside… I'm sitting here looking at blue skies hoping it will last,” said Prunella.
Over the next two days, the fallen officers will be honored on their way home. Tuesday morning the men will receive a precession similar to the one they were given last week.
The remains of Tokuoka and Wallace will be escorted to Ted Stevens International Airport by motorcade.
The procession will start at 9:00 a.m. at the Alaska Cremation Center on Spenard Road. It will travel to signature hanger.
The remains and an honor flag will be flown to Juneau where they will remain overnight. Two police officers will stand with the remains at all times.
Wednesday, an honor guard will escort the remains to the ferry, which will transport the fallen officers to the Hoonah memorial service.
Hoonah residents are working through their grief to honor the fallen officers. Restaurants are donating food and drinks for the reception and local tourism agencies are donating their resources.
"The folks down at Icy Point Straits, they are going to donate all the tour buses to bus people from the ferry terminal up to the high school,” Prunella said.
“It's just incredible to see how much everyone's doing. It's incredible,” said Brothers.
After Wednesday the town will begin to get back to normal. New officers will be hired in the coming months, but city administrators say you can replace positions not people and they hope to honor Tokuoka and Wallace with a permanent memorial.
The Alaska Marine Highway System substituted a ferry to allow an additional 200 people to attend Wednesday's memorial. It will leave Juneau at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday and arrive back in Juneau at 9:00 p.m. that evening.
Family, friends and Gov. Sean Parnell are expected to be among the speakers.
Wednesday's memorial service will be at 2:30 p.m.
The memorial will air on GCI Cable Channel 1 and we will stream it live here on KTUU.com.
Contact Jackie Bartz at jbartz@ktuu.com
