MESA, Ariz. — Mesa Police Officer Shawn Patterson is starting a journey 425 miles on foot. He'll be traveling through California this month to honor two of his friends who were killed in action in Afghanistan in 2011.
Sgt. Tyler Nicholas Holtz and Spc. Ricardo Cerros Jr. were killed just two weeks apart while they were serving with the U.S. Army.
“They mean the world to me so that’s the main reason I’m doing it,” said Patterson.
To honor them and others who have sacrificed all for our county Patterson is on a ‘Trek to Tribute’. This is in partnership with Legacies Alive which supports Gold Star Families. They are the spouses, children, parents, siblings and others whose loved one died in service to our country.
“I think it’s very important for every American to know the sacrifice that all our Gold Star Families made and their loved one have made so we can enjoy the freedoms that we have,” said Patterson.
Like most tributes, the beginning and end have a special meaning. In Patterson’s journey they are marked by his fallen brothers’ hometowns.
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Patterson started in Dana Point, California, Holtz's hometown.
“Tyler was always nice, and he wasn’t even my sergeant, but for some reason he was just nice to all of us. He was a guardian and protector that’s sort of what I aim to be in my profession and my life,” Patterson recalled.
Patterson will end his journey in the next few weeks in Cerros’ hometown of Salinas.
“No matter how hard training got he was always very happy and just a joy to be around,” said Patterson of Cerros, “his energy and positivity was contagious.”
Patterson shared that visiting people’s hometown can really help you to learn a lot about a person and what shaped them. He hopes to give something back to their communities by raising money to put up permanent statues in each of their respective hometowns.
Patterson is following in his fallen brothers’ footsteps by treating others as they treated him. “Just to treat everybody kindly,” he said.
He not only applies that kindness in his every day actions, but also on the job as a Mesa officer.
“Often times as a police officer we encounter people on their worst days,” said Patterson, “their most tragic days and so a lot of times I just like to listen,” he added.
Listening is something he’s been doing while on his 425-mile journey. He’s been joined by Gold Star Family members. He shared that many of them aspire to share the stories of how their loved ones lived, instead of how they died. Patterson is helping to support that mission.
He’s encouraging any Gold Star families and others, who would like to join him, to meet him along his Trek to Tribute route and support his cause.
You can find more information about Trek to Tribute here: https://legaciesalive.com/trek-to-tribute/.
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