Ernest Little stood at the Boardwalk and 35th Street on Wednesday, eyes trained on a 19-foot bronze-and-granite monument now bearing his father's name.
It was a somber "Thank you" nearly six decades in the making.
Officers stood at attention as the Police Honor Guard presented wreaths of red, white and blue. They were there to remember every Virginia Beach law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty, said Jake Jacocks, former police chief here and president of the Virginia Beach Police Foundation.
The afternoon ceremony held special meaning for one family.
"The second reason we're here," Jacocks told the gathering of officials and spectators, "is to dedicate the name of Special Officer Hezekiah Little Jr."
Off to the side of the monument, several generations of Little's relatives snapped photos with cellphones. Others, like Ernest Little, stood in quiet appreciation.
About 60 years have passed since Hezekiah Little, a black police officer, was killed in the line of duty. A fellow officer accidentally shot him during a struggle with a suspect on a segregated beach in what was then Princess Anne County in 1953.
But the 25-year-old fallen officer never made it into the history books. As years ticked by, even family memories of him faded. It wasn't until a mystery woman mentioned Little's name to a police captain last year that a quest to revive the officer's memory began.
Police and volunteers scoured newspapers, police yearbooks and other records trying to track down details of Little's service and death. In January, Ernest Little got a surprise phone call from police, seeking details about his father.
He was just 6 when his father died and didn't know much about his dad's desire to be a police officer. He struggled to recall details and track down a photograph of his father, but he helped the police as best he could.
He never imagined that the inquiry would lead to this week's events.
On Monday, formal recognition for the officer commenced. The Little family drove to Washington, where Hezekiah Little's name was added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
Relatives received candles to light during the evening vigil, Ernest Little said. "I kept mine."
At the Oceanfront on Wednesday, Hezekiah Little's son, now 66, approached the towering memorial. He reached out and pressed his hands against the grooves that made up Little's name.
"This was wonderful," he said.
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