Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Happy New Years Snookums! Sleep tight my love. I love and miss you terribly.

Jennifer Aaron
Duke's Wife

January 1, 2008

Hey Jennifer, I'm thinking of you during this holiday season. I hope all is well with you and your family. I will be calling you real soon. Need to talk to ya. I wish you a Happy New Year and a safe one. May God's Blessings come upon you more than ever in 2008. Hi Duke, don't you and Brian get to crazy up there tomorrow. Once again, I,m telling you something you already know. What a wonderful wife you choose and a beautiful friend I have found. Keep looking out for your family. God Love You and Peace Be With You.

lorrie
wife of ofc. Brian Winder EOW 7-3-04

December 30, 2007

Merry Christmas Duke! I asked for a sign that you would be with me throughout yesterday and today and you gave me several. Loved the Faster Pussycat's (one of your few favorite heavy metal bands) version of "Silent Night". That was the funniest. Your mom and aunt really would have appreciated hearing that one :-D.

My mom and I made your chocolate chip cookie recipe last week. Gosh how I miss you making them for me. They didn't taste anything like you made for me I thought, but Mr. Phil enjoyed them. So did my co-worker Steve and the new guy Bill. Still, nothing will ever compare to yours. You just loved to bake them, as well as your favorite M&M cookies, this time of year.

All four of the girls were treated great this year by Santa LOL. I'm sure you saw how surprised they all were this morning as they opened up their presents. They are growing up too fast! But, they make life worth continuing to live.

Sleep tight my love. Amber, Rocky, Daisy, Blackie, and I love and miss you.

Love,
Jenn

Jennifer Aaron
Duke's Wife

December 25, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS JEN AND DUKE!!

December 18, 2007

Merry Christmas, DUKE :)

Shannon Grace

December 17, 2007

Hey Snookums,

I typed in ODMP.org and your picture came up to the left where they feature the officers. Out of thousands and thousands of officers, what were the odds! Well I knew you knew, but I figured I'd tell you again that you’re going to be an uncle again. This makes five for us. I have known my sister was pregnant for some time now, but she finally told everyone so now I can talk about it. We were laughing at Thanksgiving about how you would be saying "another girl" if it is a girl. For some reason, I could see you cursed with five nieces and being tortured with boy stories (and believe me it has only gotten worse since Brittney and Hannah are now dating and liking boys), them trying to give you hair combs and manicures (like what happened at Brittney’s sleepover at our house) and hearing those loud squealing high pitched sounds they make that made you go upstairs and want to hide LOL. Steph is still too early to find out what she is having, but no matter what it is, it will be so loved by the family.

Mark went hunting last Saturday and got an eight pointer. I went with him and the girls on Sunday to drop it off at the taxidermist to get mounted. It was a place down by the big county landfill that we took it to. I had not been down that way since you and I were there a long, long time ago. It was always a tradition of ours to stop at the little store on our way out and get something to drink remember. I went over Mark’s house that Friday before and he had the girls rub his gun for good luck and sure enough, it worked. He told me he thanked you (and also rubbed it into you how his was bigger) and the girls when he shot it. When he came over to pick me up, he was anxious to compare his deer to Buckey. It may have had several more antlers, but Buckey’s neck was just as big and he weighed about the same. I joked with him about taking it over to the cemetery and showing it to you, but I’m glad we didn’t. I can’t imagine what people would have thought seeing him drag a garbage bag down to your grave and pulling out its head. We knew you saw it so we scraped that idea LOL. Debi cried her little eyes out that she had to leave "her deer" with the man so he cut off a set of antlers from another deer for her to take that day (a set like you have that you mounted yourself from one of the other bucks you shot). It still didn't make the situation better and every time Mark or I would mention the word deer the rest of the day, she would cry and we would bust out laughing at her. The man at the taxidermist place said he never seen a kid cry over a deer before. Debi is one of a kind that's for sure.

When I came to the cemetery to visit you on Thanksgiving, I got a surprise. The monument people placed four of your five pictures on your marker. What a Thanksgiving surprise that was. They weren’t there when I came over earlier the day before so they obviously done it later that afternoon. I’m just waiting now for them to place your baby picture on there and it will finally be finished. It wasn’t the pic of you in the truck or the vette that made me cry. It was the picture of you and Buckey that set me off. There was a sweet lady visiting her husband and other family there who saw me crying and came over and sat with me for a few minutes. Like I had said in prior reflections, with the change of seasons brings so many memories to mind. It is hunting season and as a matter of fact, you would be on the Shore right now trying to shoot a big one. Actually since it is Sunday, I probably would have been driving down there for the day to visit and hang out with you like I did before. You knew where I was yesterday. I was telling his dad how I wouldn’t be able to get you to leave there if you were with me. I didn’t see any deer while I was there, but I talked to him last night and a buddy of his shot two of them on his property right after everyone left. I think our house would have had a for sale sign on it by now and we would have been next door neighbors to one of your best buds if you were here. You would have been in your glory that’s for sure. I could see you hanging out on the deck with a beer in hand waiting for a deer to shoot, riding your four-wheeler, and cutting all that grass with that John Deere tractor you always wanted.

Well I guess I should get going on what I have planned to do today. I'm sure you had all the mashed potatoes and rolls you could have eaten on top of turkey on Thanksgiving. That was another thing I kept thinking about as I saw everyone diving into their dinners. You loved homemade mashed potatoes. I also thought about how our house would have been lit up that evening to kick off the holiday season. You used to threaten to unplug everything if I put them on before Thanksgiving night LOL. I'm sure Daryl across the street doesn't miss "The Griswalds" (yeah he does miss you too by the way) :-D

I love you Duke!

Love,
Jenn

Jennifer Aaron
Duke's Wife

November 25, 2007

The Badge"
He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.
He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.
Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.
He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.
His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.
He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.
And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.
But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.
Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.
Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.
So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.
In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.
Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.

November 8, 2007

Dear Duke

I met your parents and your sister at my first MD COPS retreat in Ocean City 2 weekends ago. You have a wonderful family who misses you dearly!

Dear Linda, Duke and Cindy

Thanks for all of your support during my first COPS retreat as one of the newest sibling survivors in this chapter. Although we all share the same awful thing in common of losing a loved police officer, we all have gained a new and growing family who watches out for each other. For this I am eternally grateful. Hope to see you in Washington in May

Best regards,
Meggen McKay Payerle (brother Cpl. McKay from Franconia, NH EOW 5/11/07)

Meggen McKay Payerle
Sister of Slain Officer Bruce McKay

November 5, 2007

I didn't know you as an Officer, but your funeral was the first one I've been to as a member of the force. I will never forget the sacrifice you made. It was because of the ultimate sacrifice you made that made me want to be a member of the Honor Guard. I wear your memorial ribbon on my Honor Guard uniform everytime I wear it. I will always do my best to honor you and all those who has gone before us. Rest in peace Brother.

OFC. II Richardson
MdTA PD

October 27, 2007

Hey Snookums,

With each season brings memories of our life together. Today, exactly thirteen years ago, we were riding bikes w/ Rob and Beth. I remember you and Rob also doing pull-ups when we stopped at the park playground. Our 7 year wedding anniversary was last month and yesterday was also another milestone for us. I looked at our picture from Ocean City this morning that we took on the beach in 1996. Just touching it gave me butterflies in my stomach.

Your gravemarker has finally been put into place almost three years after I had purchased it. I called and went up there many times to see why it wasn't put down yet, your sister even called, and finally my dad went up there and told them that we really wanted it put down because we felt it had been long enough that the ground has been settled and we didn't understand why it was always being put off when they said it was going to be done. They are really nice people at the monument place, but they are just a little slow. They have yet to put the five pictures of you on it, but at least the rest of it is down and the full length black granite and bench is beautiful. I still have bruised biceps from when my dad and I pulled the right bench leg out to even it out with the left one before the epoxy dried. I didn't care that is was almost dark out. I just wanted it to be even on both sides and before my dad arrived, I had already moved the leg out about two inches (it was off by about three we determined when dad arrived). My dad was also upset at how half-a$$ed it was put down, but we got it even as best as we could. The bench portion is still a little off because it was too heavy to move, but at least the legs are better than what they were.

I took Brittney and Hannah with me to a Pampered Chef party last Friday night. They were thinking about what they wanted to make Moving Night this year. Brittney wants to make caramel apples. She is her uncles niece! They were your favorites to make as well on Moving Night. Debi and Katie are growing like weeds. Debi still mentions her Uncle Duke out of the blue. She told me one time that if I kept thinking about you that I was going to make myself sick. She was pretty adamant about it. She is four going on forty don't you know LOL.

Sharon was talking about Halloweens past when we would all sit outside and give out candy and just have fun talking to each other. You would make coffee for everyone and would blast the cd of scary sounds so loud that the poor cats and Amber would be scared. I was telling my cousin Missy about our adopted pet spider Sparky we had that one year in our front yard. She laughed when I told her how you put a flashlight on him and we used him as a decoration. That thing was huge!!! Remember how your sister would make fun of the "orange glow" that was coming from our house (during the month of October) that everyone could see as they started coming down the hill on our street. Like I said earlier, with the change of seasons, there are so many wonderful memories that come to mind.

Well I guess I should close. Amber and Rocky just came over to me and are wanting my attention. I (and Amber and the cats) love you more than anything in the world Duke Aaron, III and I miss you terribly every day.

Love you,
Jenn

PS- Thanks for the sign, but um we really didn't need a new lawnmower there Duke ;-D.

Jenn Aaron
Duke's Wife

October 2, 2007

Duke and Jenn, I stopped by this site to visit with some friends and could not leave without stopping by. I think of you often. Jenn give me a call.. for anything! Jen

Det J Rollhauser
BPD SWD

September 24, 2007

Jen,
Duke is greatly missed. He was a great guy in high school and a good officer. I would like to offer any support my family can give you.

Ofc. Tim Welsh
Gibson Island Police Dept

September 14, 2007

Hey, miss you. Your Duke is so handsome. Finally found this site through friends at the COPS Kids camp this year. This was Nicole's first and last year to attend since she is now 14. Colleen whent to outward bound in Colorado too for the first time.

I am actually going to spouses for the first time in 14 years. I made a wonderful friend from Texas and we don't want to wait til May to see eachother again.

Hope you come to Ocean City. I really miss you - I know it's not easy as the years pass - seems more difficult especially with any kind of family drama. I have so much of my own from Mark's parents and sisters it all still brings me to tears even after 14 years.

As I said, miss you Jennifer F-Orsborne

Jennifer Filer-Orsborne
Friend of Jen's

August 28, 2007

HI Jenn,

I had been thinking about you back in July on Duke's 3 year anniversary. I kept thinking that I needed to reach out but you know how fast time goes in this busy world we live in. I wanted to let you know I was thinking about you and still wish you the best. I hope all of your furry babies are doing well and I hope you are doing well, too. Stay strong!

Kim Haynes

August 24, 2007

Amber got a rabbit today before it had a chance to hide (and yes I will admit that I didn't look as good as I usually do so I know what you would be saying to me LOL). This was the first rabbit since you have been gone and I dreaded the thought of this day ever coming. I put myself in the doghouse with her this time around. ;-D I guess I should go have the rabbit talk with her…again!!!

I love you!

Love,
Jenn

Jennifer Aaron
Duke's Wife

July 25, 2007

Mrs. Aaron,
I found this site in August 2004, when a colleague of my husband was killed in the line of duty. Since then, I have been following your journey through this unimaginable tragedy. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with such honesty and forthrightness.

You, and your brood of furry babies, are in my thoughts and prayers.

LEO Wife

July 25, 2007

Jenn,

It's a couple days late, but I just wanted you to know that there are still people that think of you and Duke, three years later. We've never met, but I've always admired your strength.

I hope you and the "furry babies" are doing well.

Ptl.
Glassboro, NJ

July 23, 2007

Hello Duke,
You are gone but not forgotten. I never knew you or met you but my fiance knew you and so did some of our friends, they have so many nice things to say about you and how nice of a guy you were. GOD bless you and your family.

Kimberly

July 21, 2007

Where did the time go Snookums! Not only for you, but for grandma as well. She has been gone 5 years today. This day has almost come to an end and I am glad that it is almost midnight. Amber, Rocky, Daisy, Blackie and I love you more than anything in the world Duke and we miss you terribly.

Sleep tight my love. I love you!

Love always,
Jenn

Jennifer Aaron
Duke's Wife

July 20, 2007

Jenn,
Know that I am thinking of you and Duke today on the 3rd year. Stay strong and know that I am here. The day you and Duke fell in love is the day you became 1 forever.

XOXO
Heather Everhart
ILM Lt.Walter Taylor
Eastern Disrict Baltimore City
EOW 4/17/03

Heather Everhart
Daughter of Fallen Officer

July 20, 2007

Duke,
I never had the privelege of meeting you. Over the past few years though, I have had the opportunity to hear so many wonderful stories from your loving wife Jenn. You see, she and I are in "the club", the club that no one wants to be in. We didn't ask for this, it just happened. She has given me so much support and love even though we live thousands of miles apart. On your 3 year EOW marker, I just wanted to leave a reflection for you to let you know that your loving wife Jenn is so full of love for you, and years will never change her undying dedication to the love that the two of you had.

Juli Verkler
Widow of Ptlm. Bryan S. Verkler, EOW 12/13/03

July 20, 2007

My thoughts are with all of your loved ones on this 3rd anniversary of your EOW. I know during the past 3 years not a day has gone by that you have not been in the thoughts of those that love you dearly. I also know that all the tears they have shed during this time frame they could have a small pond to sit beside and think of the many memories of you. Continue to keep watch over your loved ones, let them feel your presence so they know you are near and watching over them. You are a true hero and will never be forgotten.

Bob Gordon
Father of Michael P. Gordon, EOW: 8/8/94

July 20, 2007

My thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and co-workers of Officer Aaron on the anniversary of his passing.
Heros are never forgotten. He was taken too soon.

911 Dispatcher
Virginia

July 20, 2007

Thank you for your service. you will not be forgotten

July 20, 2007

It is hard to believe that is has been three years since you were taken from us. Thank god for all of the wonderful memories. We miss you!

Debbie & Phil Keiter
Mother & Father In-Law

July 20, 2007