'Never forget': Hundreds of Milwaukee officers converge on Washington D.C. to honor the fallen

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- As part of National Police Week, hundreds of officers who died in the line of duty will be honored in Washington D.C.

Two of them are Milwaukee’s own -- Charles Irvine Jr. and Michael Michalski.

"The respect that we see nationally for our officers at police week is amazing,” said Shawn Lauda, president of the Milwaukee Police Association. “We’re having about 175 officers from Milwaukee going."

Events kicked off a few days ago.

Several MPD officers took part in the Police Unity Tour. They began a 300-mile bicycle trek from Milwaukee to the nation’s capital, finally arriving Sunday afternoon.

MPD's honor guard, along with other members of the force welcomed the Irvine and Michalski families, for what will likely be an emotional week.

Monday night, a candlelight vigil will be held at the National Mall. At Wednesday's ceremony, the names of Officer Irvine Jr. and Officer Michalski will be formally dedicated on the National Police Officers Memorial wall. The name of Officer Matthew Rittner will be added next year.

There will be a series of events throughout the week for brothers and sisters in blue and surviving families.

"These kinds of things help remember our officers and never forget what they did for us," Lauda said.

CBS 58’s Mark McPherson is traveling to Washington D.C to cover the ceremonies. You can follow the special coverage on-air and online starting Monday night.