Family and friends from across the state joined arms with Missouri law enforcement teams this weekend in Jefferson City to pay tribute to fallen officers.
Since 2005, Karen Armstrong and her closest friends have come to the Capital City to honor her son, Scott Armstrong, a fallen officer who worked with the Bridgeton Police Department, during the annual Law Enforcement Memorial service.
Armstrong said she comes every year, and because there are a lot of families who have lost loved ones, the memorial is a safe place to let out one's emotions.
The weekend began with a candlelight vigil Friday evening, and the Saturday memorial service featured words from Gov. Eric Greitens.
"These are men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice; they lived with courage and dedicated their lives in service to all of us so we may live free," Greitens said. "We all have the responsibility to ensure that their legacy of service lives on by living through their values of service and sacrifice."
This year, the names of two officers killed in the line of duty in 2016 were added to the Wall of Heroes - St. Francois County Sheriff's Office Deputy Paul A. Clark and St. Louis County Police Department Officer Blake C. Snyder.
Also added to the wall were Ronald E. Strittmatter of the Lakeshire Police Department, who died in 2015, and Pleasant Hill Police Department Officer S. David Nelson, who died in 1917.
The memorial wall is on display outside the Capitol.
On Saturday, names of fallen officers were read, and families were able to place a flower in a memorial wreath symbolizing their loved one had not been forgotten.
"I don't think the public at large really knows the sacrifice officers are willing to give in order to continue to provide peace and safety for the community," Lincoln University Police Chief Gary Hill said. "The officers who were supported and recognized here today gave that ultimate price, and their families are still here to share a little token of what they believe in to put on those wreaths."
The memorial service is hosted by a foundation of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police.
"We want to be here to be honored and to show honor to the officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice," Jefferson City Police Department Detective Mark Edwards said. "We know what it means to lose a loved one in our families, so bringing families together helps to make one big support family for those who are present here today."