While we often focus on the safety of our local communities as a selling point to attract new residents and visitors alike, it is important to remember the sacrifice of the men and women who work to make that safety possible.

This is National Police Week, with Thursday to be set aside as Peace Officers Memorial Day. This week, communities across the country will take time to reflect on the work, and dangers, experienced by law enforcement officers as they serve and protect their communities.

Each ceremony, whether it be the 37th annual Candlelight Vigil to be held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., or the services planned for Weirton and Steubenville on Thursday, serve as a reminder that each man and woman, as they take their oath and put on the uniform knowing there is the possibility they may not make it home.

More than 24,400 names have been engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., with more added each year. This year, 345 more will be added in honor of those officers killed in the line of duty or as a result of illnesses contracted while serving. Those new names include 148 officers killed in 2024, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

While those names, thankfully, don’t include any local law enforcement officers, there are eight individuals from Ohio, and 19 from Pennsylvania. No officers from West Virginia have been designated for this year’s service.

We can’t let the numbers lessen the impact, though, as each was a husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter, brother or sister. They left behind parents, siblings, spouses, and children, who will all feel the loss.

Let’s not forget that as we gather this year to pay tribute to the service of those who strive to protect us all and make our communities safe.