Southfield honors fallen heroes

SOUTHFIELD — “Jimmy was not one to sit around. He was always on the go. And he loved his cars. He was very — of course, I sound like a bragger — but he was very, very handsome. You could ask some females, not just me,” Dennis McMahon said of his late brother, Southfield Officer James William McMahon. “He was so kind and caring that it was easy to make friends with that type of guy. He was wonderful.”

McMahon is one of the two officers the Southfield Police Department honors each year at the Fallen Heroes memorial. This year’s memorial was held May 17 outside the Southfield Police Department, on the heels of National Police Week.

McMahon was born Dec. 26, 1945, to Anna Mae and James L. McMahon, a retired Detroit police officer. He was the oldest of five and was survived by his three sisters, Julie, Kathleen and Eileen, as well as his brother, Dennis. He attended St. Mary’s of Redford High School in 1964 and studied at the Seminary of Duns Scotus. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. After his service, he worked briefly as an accounting clerk at Ford Motor Co. After about four months of serving on the Southfield police force, McMahon died on Jan. 23, 1971, at the age of 25, when he responded to a traffic crash on Telegraph Road and Interstate 696. While he was placing flares in the road, he was struck by a vehicle headed northbound on Telegraph.

“It was just so shocking for everybody, the fact that he did the U.S. Navy and Vietnam, and you come back, and you’re getting your future ahead of you. It was a short time,” Dennis McMahon said.

Over 50 years later, the Southfield Police Department remembers and honors him for his sacrifice.

“Chief Thomas was the chief of police in Southfield when they first started this memorial thing, I want to say, a little over 20 years ago. My mother was still living. And when they had the ceremony, they treated my mom like a queen. She was not in the best of health. But it was remarkable how they reached out to us, and especially her; she was in a wheelchair, and they made sure things were really accessible. That was a little over 20 years ago, and then the next year, mom passed away,” Dennis McMahon said. “But they never had this thing for Jimmy until that point. And I think it was meant to be that she was able to be there to witness it and appreciate the honor that they gave Jimmy.”

The memorial also honors Southfield Officer Donald L. Harding, who died on Aug. 5, 1962, at the age of 27. He and his partner, Officer Jim Kirkpatrick, were on patrol on Eight Mile Road when they observed two vehicles drag racing. While they were pursuing the vehicles, one of the racing vehicles made a U-turn, heading for the patrol vehicle. To avoid being hit, Harding swerved out of the way and struck a tree near Beech Road. He was killed in the crash. Officer Kirkpatrick survived and was seriously injured. The driver was never apprehended. Harding left behind a wife of four years, Myra Dunn, and one daughter, Robin Elizabeth. He was also survived by his mother, Carrie Harding, and four siblings: Mary, Robert, Margaret and Howard. Harding was born in 1935 and graduated from Mackenzie High School before serving as a sergeant in the National Guard. He was working as an inspector at the Chevy Spring and Bump factory when his friends encouraged him to join the Southfield Police Department. He joined the force Jan. 1, 1961.

During the memorial held outside the Southfield Police Department honoring the two fallen officers, City Council President Michael “Ari” Mandelbaum said, “There’s a Jewish tradition on the anniversary of the death in the family where you get together at the synagogue or in a home, and you pay tribute and honor that loved one. And we don’t cry. We’re not sad. But we celebrate and honor that person’s life and their memory. And I feel that this is also a very similar program. We’re here today to celebrate the lives of the two officers that, unfortunately, their lives were cut short in the line of duty serving and protecting our city. I know we call this a memorial service, but to me, it’s more of an honor service, where we’re honoring their lives and their dedication, as well as thanking all of our current officers and their families for what they do on a daily basis.”

Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren had plaques honoring the two fallen Southfield officers hung in the Police Department as a daily reminder of the sacrifice the two men paid. There is also a memorial honoring Mchanon and Harding in front of the Police Department.