Sgt. Philip O'Reilly
This past Saturday, March 16th, I ran in the Rock n Roll half marathon in Washington, D.C. There were over 30,000 participants in the race. I wanted to use the opportunity to honor a special officer during this event. It seemed fitting to honor Sgt. Philip O'Reilly, of the Chicago Police Department, as the race occurred on the tenth anniversary of his line of duty death. Sgt. O'Reilly was killed on March 16, 2003, when he was struck by a tow truck.
In honor of Sgt. O'Reilly I wore a sign on my back during the race with his photo and a recognition of the anniversary of his death. My hope was that as many of the tens of thousands in attendance as possible would see the sign and take a moment to appreciate and aknowledge his sacrifice.
I am sending the sign I wore and my race medal to Sgt. O'Reilly's family as something tangible they can have to be reminded that they were not alone on this sad day and that his memory lives on.
Sgt. O'Reilly had six children. Here is a link to a speech given by one of Sgt. O'Reilly's children at a memorial ceremony.
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