A person who lays down his life for another is a true hero and this week, a Jacksonville hero will be laid to rest.
He is Brad McNew, a 24-year veteran of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Corrections Department.
McNew was off-duty, when he tried to help a woman in a domestic assault situation at Love’s Travel Stop on Duval Road on October 12th. He was shot and killed. The man who shot him fled the scene and was eventually caught in North Carolina after a national manhunt.
McNew’s services will be this week and they are open to the public. Tonight, his viewing will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home of Mandarin, located at 11801 San Jose Boulevard.
Tomorrow, there will be a memorial mass at St. Joesph’s Catholic Church at 10:00 A.M. on Old. St. Augustine Road. This will be followed by a procession to Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Cemetery, located at 4801 San Jose Blvd, where there will be a 21-gun salute, a flyover, and other tributes.
Please keep Officer McNew’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. He leaves behind a wife and son.