Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Roanoke Sheriff Octavia Johnson (center), reads a list of fallen officers at Bethel Baptist Church in Salem during a service to honor those who died in the line of duty. Officers from the region were recognized, as were those from around the state who had died in the past year.

Edwin Robinson plays "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes Thursday during the officers' memorial service, which was hosted by the Salem Sheriff's Office and has been held annually for a decade.

Sgt. Darrick Jones (right), with the Roanoke Sheriff's Office, and Deputy Stephen Swain, of the Salem Sheriff's Office, roll up flags after a service to honor officers who died in the line of duty.

As Roanoke Sheriff Octavia Johnson began a roll call of fallen officers, Tillie Campbell's mind flashed back to July 17, 1936.

That's the day her father, Roanoke County sheriff's Deputy Clarence Simmons, was shot and killed on U.S. 220.

Campbell was 7 at the time. What she remembers most about that day is a house full of people and a lot of crying.

During a somber memorial service Thursday at Bethel Baptist Church in Salem, officers placed red carnations on a large blue badge in remembrance of Simmons, and all other officers who were killed while serving.

Campbell, now 79, has missed just one law enforcement memorial service since they began in the Roanoke Valley 10 years ago.

"It means a lot to be remembered," she said.

Thursday's service, hosted by the Salem Sheriff's Office, coincided with National Police Week and the 26th annual National Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is every May 15.

The fallen officers from the Roanoke Valley were remembered with moments of silence, with prayers and with the remarks of Salem Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Bowers and Salem Sheriff Eric Atkins. Officers from around the state who died in the past year were also recognized.

"We honor them not for how they died but how they lived," Bowers said.

Bowers spoke about the courage and sacrifice required of law enforcement officers.

"Their commitment to this task is unquestioned," he said. "For them, it is simple: If we need help, they will come."

Atkins said it was appropriate to hold the service at a church because the cross symbolizes the virtues that officers hold dear, virtues that officers use as armor and shield in their fight to provide protection and ensure freedom.

"For the holy cross represents hope, and hope is a cornerstone in the fight against evil," he said. "It represents freedom, and freedom-loving nations cannot stand without rule of law and those who enforce it."

Pastor John David Rorer, a lieutenant at the Salem Police Department, recognized Roanoke Officer Bryan Lawrence. Lawrence is recovering at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital from injuries suffered Saturday night while attempting to make an arrest.

Just before taps and a moment of silence, Johnson read the last name on the roll call: F.W. Robinson, a Roanoke officer who died in 1992 in a wreck as he was responding to a burglar alarm.

"May this always be the conclusion of this roll," she said.