At the close of this, yet another troublesome and busy day in Law Enforcement, a day during which problem... after stumbling block... after setback... all seemed to rise up, demanding for immediate and exclusive attention, I find my mind wandering from the immediate to a panoramic view thousands of miles away. As I type this in the comfort of my office, in the quiet of isolation, hours after the end of the Shift and in a building which has emptied, my friends and fellow brothers and sisters in arms make the final prepartions before they embark upon a great adventure. Led by Expedition Team Leader Lieutenant Troy Bacon of the Frankfort Indiana Police Department, team members Officer Carmen Kinch of the Shasta Trinity National Forest, Firefighter Steve Janke of the Ashley National Forest, and Officer Adam Noether of the Frankfort Indiana Police Department will be leaving shortly for the foothills of Aconcagua. Known as the "White Sentinel", Argentina's Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. Standing at 22,841 feet, Aconcagua is a formidable mountain surrounded by dry and desolate lands, far from the homes of these brave team members. Yet, they willingly venture in to this beautiful and treacherous environment so that others will take time to remember one of our own who can not be with us today.
Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski was killed in the Line of Duty on May 3, 2008 while protecting the citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Attempting to apprehend bank roberry suspects, Sergeant Liczbinski was cut down by callous, career criminals, who stole the life of a brave Police Officer from the citizens of Philadelphia and from the family he left behind.
And so, several months after Stephen's untimely death, at a time when the nightly news and the daily newspaper no longer remind the citizens of Pennsylvania of the significant sacrifice and loss of one of their bravest and noblest heroes, Stephen's family still struggles to endure yet another day without him. Their fight to endure, to survive without their loved one, will continue long after the collected memory of Sergeant Liczbinki's service to Philadelphia begins to fade. Stephen's coworkers, friends, and extended family members join his family's struggle in the silent endurance of his absence. It is on their behalf that the 2009 Cops on Top Aconcagua Memorial Expedition Team will set out tomorrow onto a path where every step will take them higher into the rarified air of the Andes: to help the survivors of Sergeant Stephen Licbinski know, that their loved one will never be forgotten!
We Will NEVER Forget!
To that end, I sit here in my heated office, a continent away from my friends and colleages, and daydream of the time not too long ago when I also endured the cold, the fatigue, and the thin air of Aconcagua's slopes. As a member of the 2004 Detective James Cawley Aconcagua Memorial Expedition, I walked the same trail the current Cops on Top team embarks upon. I know from experience the hardships, the sacrifices, and the camaraderie and joys they will experience during the next difficult days. And, I also know the sheer sense of accomplishment and the over-riding emotional and soul numbing minutes they hope to spend on Aconcagua's summit giving voice to the collective thousands who miss their friend, their father, their husband, their son, their fellow officer, their hero: Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski.
May their efforts not be in vain. May God bless and be with our team members as they undertake this mission to brighten the memory of Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski. May those of us who carry on in Stephen's profession, his calling, do so with pride, maintaining our integrity and our uniforms unsullied by the tarnish the world we try to protect would lay upon us and our profession.
May the family of this fine fallen hero know that Stephen will never be forgotten, that their personal family sacrifice is, and will continue to be, held sacred by Officers they will never meet, but who care none the less.
May we NEVER forget!
"God's Speed!" to the Cops on Top 2009 Aconcagua Memorial Expedition Team!
Respectfully,
Captain Keith McPheeters