The Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers hosted a national conference to coincide with the second anniversary of the Moncton shootings.

Fifty officers from across the country gathered in Moncton this weekend to watch the unveiling of a new memorial, and pay tribute in a parade.

“It was an opportunity for those officers to come in and also take another step in their journey towards healing,” said retired RCMP sergeant Ken Smith. “We had many members at this conference who were very close to that tragedy in 2014.”

Smith was on shift in 1974 when Cpl. Aurele Bourgeois and Const. Michael O'Leary were murdered just outside Moncton.

“Even the incident in 2014, it brought back a lot of those memories from those days in 1974,” said Smith. “We didn't have the services that we have today to provide, we didn't even know what PTSD meant.”

Officers attending the memorial say they took the time to reflect on the risks they take when they go to work every day.

“To look at the monument, to see the officers there in their poses and what they reflected on, it's deeply personal to step back and say, ‘This is what we're about, this is who we are, this is what we do,’” said Const. Nevin Doncaster of Halifax Regional Police.

“This has really resonated with everybody,” said Sgt. John Siderious of Winnipeg Police Service. “Officers are wearing a uniform, doing a job, but they are men and women just like everybody else. We suffer all the same stresses and illnesses.”

Two years later, the officers starkly remember where they were on June 4, 2014 – memories they say won't fade.

Cpl. Rick Mooney of the Fredericton Police Force says he was shocked when he learned about the extent of the casualties at a morning brief.

“That visceral reaction, a gut reaction to hear that we had three of our fellow police officers fall,” he said.

Others expressed gratitude for the outpouring of public support.

“It lets us know that people appreciate what law enforcement does for our community and our country,” said Adrian Spencer, Saint John CVE officer.

Many will take trips back for a private moment at the memorial, thinking about those who fell, and those who carry their memory on in the name of public safety.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Cami Kepke.