The helmet of former Buffalo Township fire chief Corey Comperatore will be be carried by members of the fire department during  Donald Trump's Inauguration Day parade. Submitted Photo

Preserving the memory of former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore has been on the minds of many as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office for a second time on Monday.

Comperatore, who was killed during a July 13 campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds while protecting his family from gunfire, will be remembered on Monday, Jan. 20, as members from the fire department carry his helmet and fire jacket at the front of the Inauguration Day parade.

“It’s been a hard process the whole way through, but to do this is just a real honor,” said Comperatore’s close friend and past Buffalo Township fire chief, Kip Johnston, who will carry Comperatore’s helmet.

Another friend of the family, Tyler Hill, will tote the jacket.

The duo along with Air National Guardsman and Beaver County native Rico Elmore, who rushed to assist Comperatore and his family shortly after shots were fired, will follow the Pennsylvania State Police Ceremonial Unit at the front of the procession of about 100 Butler County first responders, who were cordially invited to walk first in the parade by Trump’s inaugural committee.

Helen Comperatore, Corey’s widow, said she’s been amazed by how people from around the country have reached out to her. She noted how Richard Rovsek, chairman of the Spirit of Liberty Foundation, a California nonprofit that supports America’s heroes, had reached out to her to build a clear display case for Corey Comperatore’s helmet to be displayed.

Kevin Hulbert, who is associated with an organization called “The Patriot Flag” and is organizing the first responders march in the parade, noted that the helmet will be removed from the display case for the parade, but it will otherwise be shown off in the clear box, which Helen explained, also includes an American flag and a plaque that included her words.

Helen agreed to send Corey’s helmet across the country to Rovsek in order to have it prepared.

“I honestly can’t even put it into words,” said Helen Comperatore on what it means to receive support from all over the country. “This guy (Rovsek) is in California, and he wants to keep Corey alive. He’s still looking for ways to keep Corey’s helmet going around the United States, so people don’t forget about him.

“As his wife, I don’t ever want anybody to forget him,” she said.

Though Helen Comperatore won’t be a part of the parade, she plans to be in attendance.

“I think it’s going to be a very emotional day for me,” said Corey Comperatore’s widow. “It’s almost like the end of the story.”

She said her husband had wanted Trump to win the election.

“That’s all he kept saying. My husband would be so ecstatic for what’s going to happen,” she said.

Elmore, who spoke at both Trump rallies as the vice chairman of the Beaver County Republican Party at the time, said he’s glad that Comperatore and his bravery will be highlighted during the event.

“I think it’s very appropriate for Corey’s helmet, for his jacket and especially for his family to be there because they undoubtedly love and support President Trump,” Elmore said. “The fact that in Corey’s last moments his instinct was not to run, not to scatter, it was to protect his family at all costs. That just proves and shows the kind of man that Helen married.”