Wednesday, September 9, 2026
www.thepapersonline.com
Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties
Know Your Neighbor. . . . . 2➤ Stone’s Trace Festival . . . . 4-5
Vol. 56, No. 11
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
For Mike Cox , serving the community is who he is
ADDRESSING THE CROWD — Mike Cox, chairman of the 9/11 Patriot Day Remembrance Committee, speaks at a previous event. He’s hoping for a good crowd this year, as it’s the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Photos by Al Disbro.
REMEMBERING THE FALLEN — Members of the Winona Lake Fire Department’s honor guard ring the bell in honor of the firefighters who perished on 9/11 at a previous 9/11 Patriot Day Remembrance event.
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
By LAUREN ZEUGNER Staff Writer Whether it was serving on the Warsaw Police Department or as a volunteer firefighter for Winona Lake, serving the community has always been an important part of who Mike Cox is. For the last 25 years, he’s also served as the committee chair of the 9/11 Patriot Day Remembrance. Cox has served as a firefighter since 1966. “I’ve always been interested in emergency response,” he said. Cox served in the U.S. Army in division-level intelligence in Germany. After serving his time, he returned home and got licensed to sell insurance. “I realized that’s not what I wanted to do,” he said. He applied for the fire department, since his dad had worked as a firefighter, but didn’t get the job. He heard there was a position open at the Warsaw Police Department, so he applied to be a dispatcher. He served as a dispatcher for 3 1/2 years. “There came an opening on the streets. I was told I was too old. A friend of mine got that position,” he said. Another opening in the department came up soon afterward. “I got a phone call that the courts determined the pension age restriction was unconstitutional,” he said. At age 40, he was hired. He was fourth in his academy class. “I appreciated having people around me who were like-minded. Everyone there at the police department was interested in serving the public ... I liked helping people. “It was a wonderful opportunity. I got to travel. I got to do some specialty training in gang investigations, crash investigations,” he said. While serving on the police department he was and still is a member of the Winona Lake Volunteer Fire Department. He served as assistant chief and chief for several years. These days, he serves as the public information officer for the department. “It’s kind of fun,” he said about the role. “I’ve been friends with the Warsaw reporters and Deb (Patterson, editor-in-chief of The Paper). The hardest part is to corral reporters in one spot. They want to be close to the action.” Cox was working with the Warsaw Police Department when 9/11 occurred. He did not go to New York City to help out as the department was understaffed at the time. A friend of his did go to New York City. “It was awful,” he said. Instead, he and his fellow officers were called into work and briefed on keeping an eye on the water supply and utility substations. After 9/11, Cox and several friends were talking about “how we wanted to do something to help people remember,” he said. The group decided to have a parade and a program that first year. The parade started on the west side of Warsaw and traveled to the fairgrounds. “At the time, it was probably the longest parade this city has ever seen,” Cox said. It stopped three trains as well as traffic on a major interstate. “When the first entries hit the racetrack (at the fairgrounds), the last entries were at the library.” During the parade, first responders had their lights on, but not the sirens. “It was a very somber parade.” Afterward, Cox and the group decided to continue with the 9/11 program every year. “The parade is done every five years,” Cox said. A permanent memorial was installed at Continued on page 2