First of its kind monument honoring first responders who died by suicide unveiled in Rockwall

Families from around the nation convened in Rockwall Saturday for the unveiling of a first-of-its-kind memorial.

Standing alongside Lake Ray Hubbard, at the start of Heroes Memorial Bridge, organizers revealed the the Heroes Memorial Park Monument. At its heart, the Wall of Service recognizes first responders and members of the military who've died by suicide.

During Saturday's ceremony, 252 names were read.

They're the overlooked and often overshadowed. But, in front of loved ones, first responders and service members who died by suicide had their names etched into history.

"Today we revealed the first monument in the country that honors all first responders and all military veterans who died by suicide," said First Help President and Cofounder Karen Solomon.

Solomon said the Wall of Service has been in the works for years.

After multiple cities turned down the project, Rockwall agreed to house Heroes Memorial Park, a multiphase project designed around a 23-thousand-pound monument designed to recognize those often left off of other tributes.

"Our criteria is that you served honorably and you get to go on our wall. It doesn't matter when you died. It doesn't matter where you died. All that matters is that you served your community honorably because we want to recognize them," she said.

Among the names is Metropolitan Police Department Officer Jeffrey Smith, who died by suicide days after he was assaulted during the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"I had to fight for line of duty death recognition. I was luckily one of the few that it happened for but the majority of these families will never receive that honor," said Smith's widow Erin Smith.

Like many at Saturday's ceremony, Erin traveled in from out of state to see her husband's name unveiled.

She said it's a step towards erasing the stigma surrounding deaths like his.

"These individuals are humans. They were friends. They were loved ones. They were mothers. They were fathers, and their families just want a place they can go and today they have that," she said.

Former board member Sharonda Calderon also got the chance to see her husband's name.

"It means everything. It means his life wasn't in vain," said Calderon.

She said Heroes Memorial Park will serve as a place not to grieve her husband former Dallas County Sheriff's Deputy Homero Omar Calderon but to celebrate the life he lived alongside others who've walked a similar path.

"The acknowledgement of the services of our loved ones has been a long time coming and it's here, right here in Texas," she said.

The park is expected to take two years to complete. Eventually, it will hold 23 plaques with names.

The wall of service was made possible by donations.