MOUNT HOLLY TWP. -- Bound by tragedy exactly 40 years ago, the Mount Holly community came together on a wind-whipped spring morning to honor three police officers taken too soon after responding to a call of a man with a gun on Garden Street.
Saturday's 40th anniversary memorial march -- which followed in the footsteps of the 1975 procession up High Street to the funeral parlor -- brought together surviving family members of patrolmen Donald Aleshire, William Wurst and John Holmes.
They were joined by residents as well as representatives of law enforcement agencies from across the region, including Philadelphia, Camden City and Gloucester Township, who gathered to honor their fallen brothers while wearing black bands over badge numbers.
"I am truly humbled by the support you have shown for us this day," said Mount Holly police Chief Thomas Mastrangelo.
On March 28, 1975, Aleshire and Holmes, both Mount Holly officers, along with Wurst, who served on the nearby Hainesport force, responded to Garden Street near Mount Holly Avenue and were met with a hail of bullets.
Aleshire and Wurst were killed instantly. Holmes was paralyzed and died as a result of his injuries in 1992.
The shooter, Vietnam veteran James Carhart, suffered a non-fatal wound during the 3-hour standoff that ensued. Hundreds of rounds were fired into the home where Carhart had taken refuge in up on the 3rd floor.
He was found not guilty by reason of insanity two years after the shooting and is currently a resident of the Ancora Psychiatric Hospital, in Winslow. According to previous reports, Carhart said he was a heavy drug user while serving in southeast Asia and was suffering from hallucinations as a result.
"I hate to imagine a society without the brave efforts of law enforcement," said Mount Holly Mayor Richard DiFolco, later adding "the murder of a police officer shocks the soul of a community."
Eugene Stafford, who was police chief in Mount Holly at the time of shooting, spoke out front of the scene where officers arrived to find "three brothers laying on the ground."
Hundreds gathered along Garden Street on Saturday morning, standing silently on the sleepy road that is lined by quaint two-story homes. Some sat on porches or watched through open doors to pay their respects to those who protect and serve.
During his remarks, Stafford thanked the late officers, their faces on poster boards behind him. Before him, officers unveiled a bronze marker that includes the officers names and indicates them having made the ultimate sacrifice.
Asked what the area was like 40 years ago, Stafford said it was a "nice quiet neighborhood."
Marching shoulder to shoulder with police officers and local residents up High and Garden streets was Frank Burns Jr., of Mount Holly, who remembered his late father -- a police officer at the time -- rushing home that day.
"He came running into the house and told us to stay inside," Burns recalled of his father who died in 2008. "It's a nice quiet town. We don't have much trouble," he said of Mount Holly today.
"I'm proud of my father," said Burns, carrying a poster with his dad's picture on it and badges from the five police departments from around Burlington County he served with.
Although he was a cadet in Medford, Burns said he "realized that life wasn't for me."
Burns' son, however, wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps.
And how does dad feel about that?
A little worried.
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Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.