 Note to Reader- Marty Chivas worked first in Dispatch, than as an Army M.P., and finally as a P.O. prior to being gunned down in 1974 at age 23 by 2 escaped convicts from Wisconsin.
Maybe I Should Have Known:
- When I met the shy younger brother of a family friend in 1966 we shared a destiny together.
- It might have been an omen when a mortician sewed the eyebrow he cut water skiing so we didn't have to leave camp.
- The cemetery with the pond where we fed the ducks had a reservation with his name.
- The potential danger when he was seeking a career and I excitedly introduced him to my uncle the Police Officer.
Maybe I Should Have Known
- How much good luck he lacked when the draft was instituted and his birthdate was the 6th number called.
- Upon finishing the Police Academy, when he wanted to work in Detroit, Suburbia would prove more dangerous.
- How ironic it would be if he, being the most modest in our group, would be the only one immortalized.
- That when he told everyone his favorite song was "To everything there is a season...". He was preparing us for his death.
Maybe I Should Have Known
- He couldn't stay. It was only after working in a Detroit Trauma Center more then a decade before I accepted his death as inevitable.
- His brothers in blue would continue to pay homage to his name.
- Over 30 years since his death; Those of us who loved him most would not have learned to say goodbye.
- The inner peace I seek might only be possible if I can allow myself to believe he was fortunate to have had me in his life.
And to those reading this, please know, you will always hold a place in my heart and prayers.
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Officer's Name: Martin Douglas Chivas
Officer's Dept.: Patrol
City: Troy, MI
End of Watch: April 22, 1974
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