Unveiling the memory of a hero brought a family to tears and a community together.
They were honoring fallen Riverton Police Officer Thomas Whitelock with a permanent plaque, and brought closure for retired Police Lt. Howard Norcross.
"Officer Whitelock, knowing he was unarmed, stepped between me and the suspect and took a bullet in the middle of his back which traveled up his spine to his neck," said Lt Howard Norcross.
30 year old Whitelock sacrificed his life to save his partner's 36 years ago The two officers were called to control a knife-wielding mentally ill man who then decided to use deadly force on the men in blue.
"This should be the happiest day of my life and my closure," said Norcross.
The fallen officer's sister told the crowd it was their mother who sent Whitelock out on his last call. She was working in the borough clerk's office that fateful night.
"I think it made it more difficult for her for the rest of her life," said Barbara Kacem. "I know how much she'd appreciate what we're doing here today."
Patrolman Whitelock's plaque is prominently placed here in the heart of town at Broad and Main Streets, an intersection where the fallen officer once worked as a crossing guard.
"He never gave up and never gave in. He always worked to better himself," said Kacem.
A role model for today's youth and for his own son, who lost his dad when he was just 18 months old.
"It's something that means a lot to me and my family because it's something that's never been done. I think that it is a good thing that is being done," said Thomas Whitelock.
"I think of him everyday still," said Kacem.
And now a public memorial, paid for by community donations, can help this town remember a local hero for years to come.
