STOW, Ohio -- Volunteers put together a beautiful display of luminaries on the town square in Stow on Christmas Eve.

Organizers say each luminary is a powerful symbol of firefighters and police officers who have been killed in the line of duty across the U.S.

Stow Patrolman Jonathan Bastock says, "I want them to remember that many police officers have died this year trying to protect them from the bad elements of our society."

The widow of Twinsburg Police Officer Josh Miktarian, attended Thursday's vigil.

Patrolman Miktarian was shot and killed in July 2008 when he pulled over a motorist.

Holly Miktarian lit a special luminary in her husband's honor.

Also being honored at the ceremony, Boston Heights Patrolman Jarod Dean, who was killed in January of this year.

Officer Dean was a hit by a truck while picking up debris from an accident on Route 8.

The sacrifices made by Jarod Dean, Josh Miktarian and their families were remembered in a poem about fallen officers.

It reads, "I sleep now in eternal rest, my sword I pass to those behind and pray they keep this thought in mind, I never dreamed it would be me."

The Miktarian and Dean families are still grieving the loss of their loved ones -- but on this Christmas Eve, they know they are not alone.