Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial

Begun in 2002 and dedicated in 2005, the Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial honors firefighters and law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, anywhere in the state of Michigan. The granite panels of the memorial carry more than 800 names of the fallen; the first fallen hero memorialized on the wall dates from 1864. The memorial features two bronze statues designed and cast by Brodin Studios of Minnesota. A separate plaza within the memorial grounds is dedicated to the memory of lives lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The master design plan for the memorial was created by the architectural firm of Harley Ellis Devereaux. Oakland County donated the land for the memorial, and all of the work to create it was privately funded.

Conceived by Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, the Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial began to take shape after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Bouchard began fundraising in earnest and secured approximately $300,000 in private donations to have the memorial built. Life-size bronze statues of a police officer and a firefighter kneel before the 33-foot long granite wall that now carries more than 800 names of those from Michigan communities who lost their lives in public service as police or firefighters. The statues were sculpted by retired police officer Neil Brodin of the Brodin Studios in Litchfield, Minnesota.

A searchable database containing the names and details about all of the fallen heroes memorialized on the wall can be found on the official web site of the Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial.

Gray, Kathleen. "Sculptor honors fallen heroes: Oakland County plans a police, fire memorial," Detroit Free Press, March 22, 2002, p.1B.

Martindale, Mike. "Heroes side by side in life and death," Detroit News, November 11, 2005.

Lundberg, Alex. "New memorial pays tribute to fallen police officers, firefighters," Birmingham Eccentric, November 27, 2005, p.A8.

Witsil, Frank. "Pontiac memorial a comfort: families visit site honoring fallen police, firefighters," Detroit Free Press, January 10, 2006, p.3B.