On a beautiful afternoon, people gathered at a Fort Worth park to honor an equally beautiful person.
Fort Worth firefighter Rickey Turner, known for his quiet and strong work ethic, died in 2016 from work-related respiratory illness. Tuesday, the city ensured his sacrifice would be forever remembered through a ceremony and through the engraving of his name on the police and firefighter memorial wall.
"It gave me chills," said Christina Hanson, Turner's daughter. "It really gave me chills."
Hanson was among the friends and family who gathered to watch his name be etched in stone. What they didn't know was at the same time, the name of another fallen member of law enforcement was being engraved, too; a police officer, named Jackson Palmer, who none of them had ever heard of.
"On December 26, 1908, he was patrolling his neighborhood when he came upon a disturbance," explained retired FWPD Sgt. Kevin Foster, who now does research for the memorial. Foster says the news covered his murder back then, but his story had since been lost or forgotten.
"Now that we know about him, it's important to remember him," Foster said.
Foster says he wasn't able to find any photos of Palmer, nor was he able to track down any family to let them know about Palmer's memorial. But as crews began engraving Palmer's name on the wall, something beautiful happened-- Turner's family members, who were still there from watching their own dad's name being engraved, turned their attention to Palmer, and stood there in place of his own family to support him. They treated the stranger, who died so many years ago, as their own flesh and blood.
"There are no photos of Palmer, and they weren't able to track down any family to let them know his name was going on the wall. But as they started to engrave it, something beautiful happened."
"It was just the right thing to do," said Turner's son, Ricky Jr.
The men's sacrifices were separated by a century's time, yet they share something in common -- they are the first African Americans to be etched on this wall. It was a moment that wasn't lost on Hanson, Turner's daughter.
"I don’t think it's by any accident. God works in mysterious ways, I will say that," she said.