More than four decades after two Atlantic City police officers died in the line of duty, family members and friends of John "Sonny" Burke and Daniel "Sonny" DuRoss said the naming of two city intersections in their honor has been a long time coming.
"This is the best day of my life," Joan DuRoss, DuRoss' widow, said Friday during one of two naming ceremonies. "It was hard, but I knew it would happen."
DuRoss, who died Sept. 24, 1963, was killed when he was hit by a drunken driver while he was on motorcycle patrol. He was 29. Burke died Oct. 1, 1970, after he was shot while responding to a reported armed robbery. He was 26.
Joan DuRoss and every other family member who attended the two ceremonies said Friday's events were worth the wait.
Kim DuRoss Dodd, one of DuRoss' three daughters, said the event should have been held a long time ago, but, even still, it would take her time to get used to seeing her father's name at the intersection of Hartford and Atlantic avenues.
"This is specifically for him," she said.
Family members attending the ceremony for Burke at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue said they were glad his name was still known and honored in the city.
"This should be done for all the fallen officers," said Burke's youngest brother, Jack Burke, of Egg Harbor Township.
Burke also is the namesake of the John "Sonny" Burke K-9 Academy. He was one of the first members of the city's K-9 Corps.
Burke was minutes from ending his shift in 1970 when he was killed. The following day, he was scheduled to go on his honeymoon.
In addition to family, four-legged members of the 37th class of the K-9 academy and their officers lined up on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard during the ceremony.
Officers from Atlantic City, Somers Point and Hammonton attended the ceremonies, as well as officers from Barnegat and Brick townships in Ocean County and Hazlet Township, Monmouth County.
Joseph Rifice and Joe Yulick, president and secretary of the Atlantic County Retired Police and Firemen's Association, respectively, first approached Atlantic City Council two years ago hoping to have the two men honored.
When that dream became reality, Rifice, who worked with both DuRusso and Burke, said he could not contain his tears.
"It really makes me feel good," Rifice said. "I get a little emotional."
Indeed, he did. During both ceremonies, Rifice wrapped his arm around family members of the fallen and cried as bagpipers played "Amazing Grace."
Yulick said it only made sense to honor DuRoss and Burke with individual street names because they made the ultimate sacrifice for the city.