Every summer, the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation embarks on a solemn journey—one that carries more than just miles of road. It carries the names, the memories, and the legacies of our fallen correctional professionals.

On the sides of our CPOF trailers are the etched names of every officer we have honored at PROJECT, beginning before PROJECT each year, to include all corrections professionals who lost their lives in the line of duty. These names represent lives of service, families forever changed, and a profession bound together by courage and sacrifice. As these trailers travel across the nation to PROJECT, they become moving memorials, rolling tributes that remind everyone who sees them that these heroes are never forgotten.

A Road Paved With Purpose

From the moment the trailers leave our home base, they are on a mission. This is not just a delivery run. Each stop, each mile, each honk of a passing truck is part of a larger journey of remembrance.

• They roll through small towns and big cities, silently carrying the stories of those who gave everything.

• They connect communities coast to coast with the reality of the risks correctional staff face daily.

• They honor not just the fallen, but also the families, friends, and colleagues who continue to live with their absence.

The sight of the trailer often brings people to a pause—sometimes with a hand over their heart, sometimes with a quiet nod. For some, it’s the first time they realize the magnitude of loss in our profession. For others, it’s personal—they see a familiar name and remember the face, the voice, the laughter.

PROJECT: Where the Journey Ends and the Healing Continues

When the trailers arrive at PROJECT, they complete their journey, but the mission is ongoing. At the event, the trailers are on display for all to see, allowing attendees to walk among the names, reflect on their meaning, and share in moments of remembrance.

One trailer then travels off-site to the memorial ceremony, serving as a solemn backdrop and a powerful reminder that we will never forget. The presence of those names at the ceremony connects the visual weight of loss with the spoken words and tributes, ensuring each hero is honored in both sight and sound.

The trailers stand as physical reminders that the names on their sides are not statistics: they are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, friends, and partners. They lived, they served, and they mattered.

Why We Roll

This journey is about more than transportation: it’s about carrying a message:

• That sacrifice will be honored.

• That families will be supported.

• That the correctional community is united, no matter the distance between us.

For those who have never attended PROJECT, the sight of the trailer passing through their community may be the closest connection they have to the ceremony. For those who have, it’s a moving reminder that CPOF’s mission rolls on, year after year.

As the wheels turn and the road stretches ahead, the CPOF trailers continue to roll with a purpose: a purpose to honor, remember, and unite. And to each person who pauses along the way—whether to greet us, recount their time in corrections, or bow their head in remembrance: know that you are part of this journey, carrying the mission forward with us.