Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Rest in peace Special Agent Kirkland.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 2, 2022

Rest in peace always knowing that your service and sacrifice will never, ever be forgotten by your law enforcement brethren.

Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo
Delaware State Police (Retired)

August 25, 2020

I ran into this page by chance and was touched by the kind comments. Mark and I had been married almost six years when he died. We had two little boys: a toddler and a baby. No one will ever know how dedicated he was to his work as an FBI agent or how much he believed in America. I had the FBI insignia placed on his grave stone to honor that. He wanted to be an FBI agent from the time he was a boy. He was a beautiful father and a wonderful husband. Although life has continued to march on, I remember him as if it were yesterday and wish our sons could have known him. If he could hear me I would tell him that the promise I made at his graveside to raise them to be fine men like him has indeed been kept. They are amazing young men who are both happily married with successful carreers and families. God bless you, Mark. Even though you left us early, your legacy of service to others, American ideals, and family devotion lives on in our boys. Knowing you has blessed my life and theirs, and the lives of our ten grandchildren.

Julia Kirkland Andrus
Wife

November 23, 2018

Agent Kirkland,
On today, the 40th anniversary of your death I would just like to say thank you to you and your fellow Agent on that plane with you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your Family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.

R.I.P.
USBP

Anonymous
United States Border Patrol

August 25, 2017

... the passage of time will never diminish our sincere appreciation for your dedicated service and ultimate sacrifice for us. God Bless You Special Agent Kirkland, Special Agent Basford, your Families, Community, and the F.B.I.

grateful citizen

August 25, 2015

Your heroism and service is honored today, the 32nd anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service. My cherished son Larry Lasater was murdered on April 24, 2005 while serving as a Pittsburg, CA police officer.

Rest In Peace.

Phyllis Loya

Anonymous

August 25, 2009

Always remembered.

Cpl/1 Steven Rizzo
Delaware State Police

August 25, 2008

"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.
Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1993 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

March 20, 2008

"Ye, though I fly through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no Evil; For I am at 10,000 feet and climbing."

Keep Climbing!

Rest In Peace

Darin L. Paul, Special Agent/Pilot
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Detroit Division