Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN DAD! WE REMEMBER ALL THE CRAZY HALLOWEEN'S WHEN YOU HAD EVERYONE IN STITCHES WITH YOUR GREAT COSTUMES AND SUPER SPIRIT!! NO DOUBT IT WAS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE DAYS!!! WE MISS & LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!! TRICK OR TREAT :)

...us girls
10/31/03

October 29, 2003

Brother Glen,

I know you can hear me. You made the ultimate sacrifice for your fellow human beings. Your fellow officers will never forget you. My memories of working beside you are embedded forever in my mind and heart.

Carlton Galang
Honolulu PD 111th/Maui PD 55th

October 22, 2003

Dear Daddy,
I really really really wish you were here. Physically and spiritually... I know you are with me right now, I can feel you on my shoulder. But I wish I could see your face again. Not just in pictures but in person. I would do anything to have you here or to at least see you once more. Well I wish and hope I can see you just one more time. But I dont believe my wish can be granted. Well I hope to see you again, I will talk to you later.. Love always and forever,
Your BIG small Girl.....

Daddy's Lil' Gurl
Kailua

October 20, 2003

Glen,
I can always remember the times on "B" watch. Even though we were in different districts, us footmen always managed to get along. I share with everyone how our lockers were nearby and how our shifts seem to always start and end with a laugh, or a "war story".

Rest in peace Glen, we will take it from here.

MPO-IIM Kevin Kobayashi
Honolulu Police Department

October 15, 2003

...they are so beautiful ...i see you in their eyes ...they struggle to be brave ...their laughter is healing ...at the same time it is painful ...the days melt one into the next ...sometimes it is so hard just to get up in the morning ...things were so much more simple when you were here ...going through the motions ...that's what they call it ...we pray a lot ...we pray that you are watching over us ...we pray that remembering won't hurt so much someday ...that our choices are right ...and that you hear us when we call out your name ...we acknowledge your presence ...we feel you ...we lean on each other ...sometimes we need space ...they wear a symbol of your ultimate sacrifice ...another says hero and holds your picture ...they sleep in your t-shirts ...and listen to your cd's ...i see them watch others ...daddies with their young ...memories revisited ...grateful not envious ...for times spent with you ...sustanance for their souls ...they hold on to them desperately ...a christmas photo on their school binder ...we miss you daddy is their screensaver ...i sometimes feel overwhelmed ...is this the right answer ...is that the right consequence ...am i expecting too much ...am i giving in too easy ...i speak out to the air ...help me if you're there ...i'm not doing this without you ...a light cool breeze and i know you are listening ...a streelight flickers and i hear your response ...a calm unexplained ...and i remember a promise ...i shared it with them ...they said that they knew ...you promised them too ...i should have known ...true to your word ...honest in deed ...it's after midnight ...day 223 ...i've watched them sleep for 2 hours now ...my love for them overwhelms me ...you are here too ...i am sure of it ...they stir for a moment ...with my arms i embrace them ...with your soul they are loved ...the pressures of the day melt away ...goodnight daddy ...goodnight friend ... ... ...

...me

October 14, 2003

God Bless you and your girls Glenn. We will met again.

Officer
HPD/110th class

September 8, 2003

Brother Glen,

What an awesome experience it was to have worked along side you. I visited you at Hawaiian Memorial Cemetary the other day. All I can think of are the good times. I miss our conversations when we just talked about our investigations, and helped each other out in any way we could. Thank you for always being there for us, and for making the ultimate sacrifice. Rest in peace, brother Glen.

3555
Honolulu Police Department

August 23, 2003

sweet g... thinking about you... your words always on my mind... your smile still in my heart... your memory forever in my soul...

me...

You will be greatly missed my brother..
Aloha and may God keep you.

Police Officer Daniel Bean
Chesterfield, VA/Formerly HPD

Today's date is July 23, 2003, but in our hearts, it's March 4th all over again. We miss you.

Anonymous

Blue Hawaiian Funeral
By Stevie Mauriello

It is 5:45 p.m. I slam my office door shut, lock it and “walk” down the hall at a pace that comes close to breaking the company safety rules. I’m much later than I wanted to be. As I pass by Sarah’s office I see she is still working. She has not packed up yet. I ask her, “What are you still doing at work? I thought you were leaving on time for the funeral services?” We join forces by carpooling to the funeral home and offering a little moral support to each other in the face of the ordeal that lies ahead.

Parking will be non-existent. I’ve heard the streets are blocked off with police barricades. There will be so many people at the service we won’t even be noticed by the family. We’ll quickly pay our respects; let them know that we are there. That’s all we can do.

We talk nervously about work as we walk to Sarah’s SUV. Once in the car we really don’t know which way to go. The funeral home is in Chinatown, which is a maze of narrow, one-way, side streets, so we just head in the right direction hoping some parking solution will suddenly appear. I have no expectation of getting a decent parking spot but I’m willing to walk ten blocks if I have to. Then, up ahead, we see the parking structure for the Chinese Cultural Plaza and the sign says it’s not full. I can’t believe it. We really got lucky. It is just two blocks away from the funeral home.

We get out of the car but don’t know which way to go. Again we head in what we think is the right direction. “There are some policemen near the stairwell,” I point out to Sarah. “We’ll follow them. They must be going in the same direction. If we can just find our way out of the Cultural Plaza.” We join the fringes of the group of Police Officers unnoticed.

We all walk together through the breezeway of the Plaza onto the street. We gasp collectively. You can hear it. A bunch of strangers brought together with a common destination stop in their tracks, staring at the sight in front of them.

Blue…Only Blue…Everywhere Blue…

Hawaii State Police Officer, Glen Gaspar was shot in the chest multiple times, while attempting to arrest a 3 time violent offender inside an ice cream parlor. Of course, there was a huge uproar about a justice system that would allow an offender such as this man, if you can classify him in the same species as most of us, to roam the streets.

Glen’s ex-wife, our friend Renee, said that he never wore his bulletproof vest. A subtle reminder that many men are still a little macho underneath that 21st century veneer of enlightenment.

As we get closer to the funeral home, not that we can actually see it because of the crowds of people, our eyes are drawn to the TV camera vans, with their curly-cue antennas reaching for the sky, parked along a blocked road. In the driveway of the funeral home a dozen blue and white motorcycles are parked in perfect alignment, slightly angled, shining like they were washed and polished where they stood. They were dressed in their Sunday best, silently saluting the one we came to honor.

“Is that the line?” I ask Sarah. “There must be a civilian line somewhere else. Maybe it is around the corner. There are only Police Officers in this line.” “Excuse me”, Sarah intrudes on the silence of the Officers in front of us. “We are lost. We don’t know where the civilian line is.” One of the men in blue responds, “This is it. We are all in the same line together.”

Are those the Green Berets up ahead in line? I am amazed at the collection of men and women in state and federal uniforms that have come to honor a stranger who shares one thing in common with all of them, a dedication to helping their fellow man. Sarah spies the familiar uniforms of the National Park Service Rangers. Our friend, Mike, is a National Park Services historian, so she recognizes the colors and style of their most formal attire. We gawk unashamedly at the battalions of Fire Fighters, Sheriffs, and military personnel in their dress uniforms representing every branch of the Armed Services. Cutting in line is the Mayor, dressed in a suit and tie, which is his personal and ultimate form of respect. Most of the men who were born and raised in Hawaii never wear ties or ever owned one. There is no need in Hawaii. Every occasion is attended in casual Aloha attire; a long-standing social norm and a reminder of Hawaii’s native roots where living on and by the ‘aina’ does not require much attire at all. The Mayor reminds me of an acquaintance. I once asked him if he ever wears a tie. He replied, “I only wear a tie for marryin’ and buryin’”, which is very appropriate for Hawaii. I don’t see any other ties in line.

We haven’t moved much further in line but I notice our friend, Mary. Peeking under a branch as I pass by a small palm tree, I try to catch her attention. She turns. Her eyes are glistening, her mouth is downturn, and she slumps against the wall. It is all too apparent that she has already been through the line. She gathers the strength to walk over in response to my hail. Mary has had a very bad week at work and Sarah makes a sincere attempt to empathize with her and get our minds off the sadness that waits ahead. “Poor thing, work has been really tough this week.”
“It can’t compare to THIS”, Mary whispers. We look away.

There’s Diane, Mark and Jeannie, three of the managers at work. They don’t know Renee very well but she trained some of their employees. Back at the office I had considered them and others like them “death mongers”. I thought they just want to be part of the feeding frenzy, taking advantage of someone’s misery so they can say, “I went to Glen Gaspar’s funeral”. If he had died in a car accident or had a heart attack they would not be here. But then, they stop to speak with us and it is obvious they’ve been through the line already. I can feel their pain for Renee. I see it on their faces and I am shamed that I thought their attendance was for show. I was wrong and even if I am the only one who knows it, I feel guilty for the judgment I made. “Did you see Renee?”, we ask. “She is at the end of the reception line”, Diane tells us, and “We were lucky we got to see her.”

The line moves slowly. 20 minutes pass. We will be in there in another 10 minutes, I say to myself. Another 10 minutes, another 20 minutes pass by. One hour still finds us in line but I can see the door now. Finally we are inside the foyer. I have been to this funeral home many times but tonight it seems 3 times larger than any time before. There must be folding doors that open up to a larger room. The doors are definitely open tonight. There are rows and rows of chairs and every one is filled. Dozens of rows face forward on either side of me, opening onto a stage area where the coffin is and beyond that dozens more rows on both sides of the cavernous room. Where is Renee? I cannot see her. Sarah and I scan the room. “Do you see Renee?” I ask Sarah hopefully.

The line moves pretty fast now as we come upon the coffin. A veil is draped over the upper half of his body. I can see him now, however, I have to walk swiftly past. So I quickly do the sign of the cross as I am propelled toward the other side of the room by the pressure of people behind me in line. I cannot even be sad; there is no time to reflect and no time to say a prayer. There are so many people.

Where is she? Where is she? We look around frantically because we have to move through the line, we can’t hold it up. Sarah catches a glimpse of her. “There, there she is, in the vestibule.” What an ordeal for Renee and her children. There are so many people to hug. Some they love, some they know, and some they don’t. You’ve seen it before at other events with a lot of media exposure… “Let me introduce you to my cousin’s husband’s brother”, kind of thing. I felt like I was just one more hug she had to mechanically distribute. “We love you Renee” is all we can say. She has stopped crying, so have her children. Her make up looks good. How can that be? But her eyes are vacant. Renee and her two young daughters are wearing green Aloha print tops and tealeaf leis. They have silver charms around their necks with Glen’s portrait etched onto them. Though Glen and Renee were no longer married, their relationship was good and their children bound them together. It looks like Renee and the girls are going to dance the hula in the stage area.... unimaginable in their grief. But as with most Native People, dance and song are ways they express their grief and honor their dead. Is it too much, too overwhelming for the girls? I am overwhelmed.

They announce that the doors will close shortly so we quickly exit through the back door. A cameraman is standing right in the middle of the hallway and we have to split up to get around him. It seems so intrusive but the local news media are anxious to get the drama captured on film for the 10 o’clock news.

In the back parking lot we run into more of Renee’s friends. They’ve come from the Big Island and we “talk story” for a while but I’m anxious to leave. There is nothing I can do here to make things right again. I just hope Renee knows how much we love her and care. After all of the well-wishers are gone we will be there when she returns to work. She’ll need us then.

We hit the street. There are more than a hundred Police Officers standing in formation, marching around the block because they can’t get into the service. There is not enough room for them inside so they make a final tribute in their own way.

On the way back to the parking lot, we cannot get across the street. There are so many cars slowing down, rubbernecking or looking for a parking space. The headlights are blinding us as we attempt to get across the street but are forced back to the sidewalk. We can’t see around the parked cars. Then, there is a break in the bright haze. We see the outline of a Police Officer take form against a backdrop of headlights. He is standing motionless in the middle of the road, halting traffic for us to cross. He smiles genuinely as he waves us on toward the other side of the street. As we pass, he jokingly says, “it’s not like there aren’t any Cops around here”.

When Police Officers put on that badge every day they know the risk they face. It is the risk Glen faced. He paid the price of that courage and devotion to help us. But the daily uneventful assistance they give ordinary people is what really matters. The Officer who stopped traffic for us brought that point home for me. It seemed that helping us in a small way was the most important moment of his day. I believe it might have been more important than honoring his fallen comrade. He has dedicated his life to helping others. In my mind he paid the ultimate tribute to Glen, exemplifying the ideals of all Police Officers, by being there when someone needed him.

To the Family and friends of Glen Gasper and the officers of the Honolulu Police Department..I wish to express my deepest sympathy..and also my true belief that Glen is now watching all of us, and like my friend, Mike Hartzell killed on duty 4-29-03 he will be waiting for us all when our tour is done, waiting to show us the way..God bless you all and God bless Glen Gasper and Mike Hartzell..again the deepest sympathies and support from the Youngstown Police Department..Youngstown, Ohio

Patrolman W.K. Burton
Youngstown Police Department,Youngstown, Ohio

Dear Daddy… we remember and we are on our way
To visit and place flowers at the place where you lay
As you know we come here often, sometimes just to sit
But today it seems that celebration is a better fit

You see Daddy, we remember, not only for today
How blessed we’ve been for having you in a very special way
The laughter we remember, the quiet times we shared
The way you let us be ourselves, we always knew you cared

Remember when we’d burn cd’s long into the night
Then race to be the first to wake and get the lyric’s right!
You’d walk the mall for hours just to find us the right shoes
That special pair of Nike’s, the only ones we’d use

We would head out to our ball games, and we always knew
That when the game was over, we’d run straight back to you
Win or lose, your arms wide open, we knew you would be there
No doubt at all in our minds we were the luckiest pair

Then in a moment everything changed, how could we have known?
Would there have been a difference in the love we’d shown?
Are there any regrets? Was there anything left unsaid?
So much confusion going on in our heads

Hundreds of people came, crying thousands of tears
Some didn’t even know you, some had for years
They still call to check up on us and try to comfort our pain
So true when we hear them say, “things will never ever be the same”

In them we find strength Dad, and prayers have helped us too
Family, Friends, Strangers and Your Brothers and Sisters in Blue
They’ve rallied around us in support, and we support them as well
Memories, photos and words of love, you left so much to tell

Still it hurt so much to see you and to have to say “goodbye”
As if our world was crashing in and no one knew quite why
Mom kept reminding us to search inside for a place we both knew
A place within our heart of hearts that belonged only to you

She told us go there when it hurt and that’s where we would gather
The strength to hold our heads up high when the other we would rather
Mom said that you know every tear we cry and miss us dearly too
And that there is no question in your heart of our love for you

She told us to remember, right up to that very last night
We kissed and shared “I Love You’s”, our world was oh so right
She knows that you look down on us and love us so much too
That nothing, even death could separate our world from you


Mommy said that she remembers so many special days
She lights a candle every night and quietly she prays
Behind it is your picture, she speaks into the flame
Her choices for us daily, made and lifted in your name

She tells us it’s important to share our lives with you
And if in doubt, she asks us, “What would Daddy do?”
We know that she is hurting too, in a different way
She said she lost a very special friend on that tragic day

No decision does she make without first asking you
She says no matter what they say, “parenting takes two”
She hopes someday that we will come to know the meaning of
Separate worlds that still maintained the meaning of one love

That’s just it Dad, it’s true, we are still the luckiest pair
Although we can’t see you, we still know you are there
Watching as we start our days, tucking us in when day is done
Our crescent moon by night and by day our golden sun

To light our way and guide us, help keep our faith renewed
For on the day we are called home, again we’ll run to you
Your arms we’ll find wide open, your greeting warm and true
Our best friend, our hero, our Daddy. We’ll always remember you!

Forever Daddy we remember, not just because of this day
Because you touched this great big world is such a profound way
At night we close our eyes and dream, the image of your face
And find the way within our hearts to that special place

That place where you are near again and we can feel your touch
The place where we’re reminded of how we’re loved so much
We are still Daddy’s little girls and want you to know too
The quiet little corner of our hearts reserved only for You!

Now here we lay our flowers, and here we shed our tears
Not sure if even time will heal our pain over the years
One thing though is for certain now and will be true forever
Never will we forget, Dear Daddy... Always, We Remember!

In Loving Memory of
Officer Glen A. Gaspar

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY! WE MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU VERY MUCH.

...i call on you ...you know my struggle ...the challenge before me ...keep me focused ...i miss you sweet g

rg

Being that this is Memorial Day, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect again on the ultimate sacrifice Glen paid protecting our community...you are not forgotten my friend.

Sgt. William Kelley (Ret.)
Honolulu Police Department

I do not know if I will be the same without Glen. He was like the type of person you'd always want to be friends with. I never did here anyone talk about his girls the way he did. When he talks about his daughters he's always very proud and positive about them. He always talked very highly about his girls. They will miss him dearly and I'm sure my family and I will too. To me Glen's passing is not like loosing a fellow Officer, it's more like gaining an angel in heaven

Anonymous

So sad your story, i will light a candle for you, all the best ones seen to go first.
God love and bless you and your family.
"YOU HAVE GONE TO A GREAT PLACE WITH GOD"

N/A
N/A

Glen was not only a partner and friend to me, he was like a brother, I have known Glen since he first got in to the department 12 years ago. We worked together, we trained together and we partied together. Glen always had a smile on his face and a happy go lucky aura about him, but when it was time to throw down, he was one of only a few that I would go to war with and not worry about my back! Glen Gaspar was great Father, a great man and a great Police Officer, in that order, and thats the way he wanted it, he loved his two daughters more then anything in this world. Glen would talk about how proud he was of his daughters and brag about them every day. He talked about them with such conviction and passion, that I never got tired of listening to him. Years ago Glen, I and some of our closest friends got armband tatoo's. I am not only proud but honored to share this armband with a hero such as him, we should all aspire to be like Glen.

Police Officer Michael
Honolulu Police Department

You will not be forgotten brother.

Andi

To the family and friends of Ofc Gaspar, my heart felt sympathy goes out to you and the Hawaii community on the loss of a true warrior, no that he is in a better place watching over all of you until we all meet again.

Semper Fi my brother in blue......
Former U.S. Marine Kaneohe Bay
1993-1996

Senior Patrol Ofc Kevin Armstrong
Anchorage Police Department

"g"... here it is... another sleepless night... sometimes i think i hear your car coming down the road... sometimes i even smell your cologne... at times i feel your presence... still... most of the time, i just feel lost... not quite sure how i am going to make it through without you... i remember when i first knew you were gone... it was the only thing i could say... "i can't do this without him"... i am counting on you... counting on you to be my strength, my courage and my guide... i look at our beautiful babies... everyone keeps telling me kids are resiliant and they will be okay... i see the spark that is missing in their eyes... i tell them when they hurt, to go to that place in their hearts that belongs to only you and them... that's what i do... i find myself looking for time alone... time when i can remember our "most recent" conversations... i will treasure those forever... i will keep my "promise" to you as well... i take them with me to that place that is only yours and mine... sometimes i feel angry... not at you of course... a lot of the time i am afraid... afraid that i no longer have you to go to... you have always been my sounding board... when it came to the girls... when it came to life... no one will ever understand what it meant to know that no matter where our lives had taken us, we had each other... that is my true comfort... i tell the girls every day that you love them... i try to do right by you, for them... watch over us always... my beloved angel now that guides me... forever in my heart... i miss you sweet "g"...

Renee Gaspar

I would like to give my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of Officer Glen Gaspar. He was a true hero. He will not be forgotten.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13

Sonja Herzog
Survivor of Deputy Richard Herzog June 22, 2002

To the family, friends and co-workers of Officer Gaspar... deepest sympathy for your loss. May God bless and comfort you.

Jamie Johnson, surviving sister of
Officer Jon Cook
San Francisco Police Department

<<<>>> U were here that day gone the next because of a guy who took a guess at how he should live and wat he should do he thought everyone hated him fo shu so he took out a gun straight from his pants pulled the trigger and then uncle glen passed he went to heaven were he should be but now we miss him and want to leave to go and see him in a place we call heaven and we wish he were here in our arms n protecting our island hawaii and also us we really wish he wasnt gone cause i kno that the hpd really needed him indeed cause now they lost speed so this is the end and i luv uncle glen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<<<

Corrie Lee