On it is a low wall with four entrances. At each entrance, bronze lions watch their cubs at play. On the wall are the names of more than 14,000 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. They were the lions of our society.

The common term for lion is Leo. The common term for law enforcement officer is L-E-O. The second week of May is the week of the lions. Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers will descend on Washington as a single family to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty, to remember the brave men and women who form the thin blue line.

The sounds that come to us and penetrate deep in our hearts will be the keening wail of bagpipes playing Amazing Grace, heard so often and so sadly at yet another cop's funeral.

We will also hear the cadence of an honor guard and the mournful tones of taps being played.

We will see the glisten of brass and the flutter of flags of honor guards paying tribute to uniforms of blue, brown and grey. For those who wear the badge, these sights and sounds will carry forward throughout our lives and the memories of our fallen comrades will not fade.

We only ask that long after this ceremony has passed and you see an officer on the street or a cruiser pass by, that you pause in your daily lives. We ask that you pause and listen closely for these sounds, for Amazing Grace, for taps.

We ask that you recall the uniforms, the fluttering flags and reflect on the sacrifice made day in and day out to preserve the stability of our society and the sanctity of your safety.

The first line of duty death recorded by the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund was Deputy Sheriff Isaac Smith of the New York City Sheriff's office in 1792.

Since then, almost 17,000 law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

In any given year, some 200 officers may die protecting the American public.In 2001 we lost 234 of our brothers and sisters of the badge. A terrible toll driven by the September 11 attacks on our nation.

But even that terrible tragedy is still dwarfed by our worst year when in 1974, 271 officers were killed in the line of duty.

The horrible cost does not end there. Look around you and take a mental picture of the officers you see. Some may not be here next year, and for each tragic loss, 40 more will be assaulted and one out of every three will be injured.

In face of all this, where do we turn? We learned long ago to take care of our own. To be sure, we negotiate with our departments to ensure that officers and their families receive medical and death benefits which are too seldom adequate for those who pay the ultimate price of permanent, debilitating injuries or death. They are never enough for the parents, wives, husbands, children and family members who will never again touch, caress or laugh with someone they love deeply.

But, the law enforcement family is truly a family and we hold each other up in the hardest of times. In 1984, 110 members of our family who had lost an officer they loved formed Concerns of Police Survivors, best known today as COPS. Twenty years later, we celebrate their twentieth anniversary with over 12,000 members. For any other organization, this growth would be a point of pride.

It is a bittersweet point for us because it is a sad reminder that the losses go on. But for all that, it is proud testimony to the commitment of the police family to one another.

While each law enforcement agency provides varying degrees of assistance to family members who have lost officers they love, Concerns of Police Survivors does even more.

COPS brings a deep feeling of personal support by helping families rebuild their lives. COPS provides training to law enforcement agencies on survivor victimization and educates the public of the need to support the law enforcement profession and its survivors and they offer peer-support and professional counselors to assist survivors as they move along their path of grief. Despite the sadness, the loss, and the grief, brave men and women continue to commit their lives to the job.

Why? On the rare occasion when a cop is truly candid answering that question, they will give one of two universal answers. A rookie, barely out of the academy and new to the streets, will inevitably say, "Because I can make a difference."

A grizzled veteran with too many years on the job will say, "Because I thought I could make a difference." A subtle shift in perspective and a sad commentary on the price the job demands.

Because we have chosen to pay that price, each of us who wears the badge shares in a legacy that is not understood by those outside of law enforcement.

They cannot know the bond created by the badge. Common sacrifice, shared dangers, and mutual grief is the price we pay for wearing the badge.

The willingness to pay that price creates a family like none other. The badge is one of honor that brings us all together, a bond that cannot be broken.

The thin blue line behind the badge is the only line of defense that separates decent, innocent Americans from those who would prey upon them. George Orwell once wrote, "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men" – and I would add women – "stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."

Harsh words, but fitting for the harsh world we must face every shift, every day and every night that we put on the badge.

Despite the cynicism bred by the job, despite the anger at society's predators, we go on. Generation after generation step up to the challenge and replace those who have fallen. Those of us behind the badge, and those that love us, will feel a great sense of loss this week above all others.

But we will go on. We will mourn those we have lost, but we will go on to protect the public safety with courage, honor, and commitment to honor our fallen brothers and sisters of the badge and to honor the badge itself. Even against the backdrop of bagpipes, taps and tears, the thin blue line will not falter, it will not fail. That is our solemn oath.

Bradley D. Debraska is president of the Milwaukee Police Association, IUPA Local 21.

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