SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Gov. Maura Healey has signed the Blue Star Family license plate into law, creating a no-cost memorial plate for families of Massachusetts law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

The signing came after decades of advocacy by families of fallen officers, including two Springfield women who traveled to the State House in Boston for the ceremony.

Doris Beauregard Shecrallah and Maura Schiavina have pushed for a memorial plate for fallen Massachusetts police officers for decades. Their husbands and brothers, respectively - Springfield Police Officers Alain Beauregard Shecrallah and Michael Schiavina - were killed in the line of duty together in 1985.  Both men are honored at the Springfield Police Memorial and a park in the city’s Sixteen Acres neighborhood bears their names.

Springfield officers drove the two women to the State House, where they joined other families and law enforcement for the signing.

“A long road, a long road, but we have the victory,” Beauregard Shecrallah said. “We are truly grateful for all the people involved, our politicians, but our officers who did a lot of hard work and also our survivors too.”

Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble told lawmakers the plate would be a lasting sign of appreciation for families of more than 400 Massachusetts troopers and officers who have died in service of the Commonwealth.

Nationally, the Blue Star designation honors families with immediate relatives actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, and various other plates carry Blue Star designs. RMV Registrar Colleen Ogilvie said the new plate would give the public one more way to honor Massachusetts’ fallen.

Schiavina drew a parallel between military and law enforcement service.  “I understand veterans getting it. They’re servicemen, but so are the police officers,” she explained. “They serviced their communities. It’s an honor.”

The plates will be issued to families at no cost and feature the words “Blue Star Family.” Families can contact their local RMV branch to learn when plates will be available.

For Beauregard Shecrallah, the signing marked the end of a long wait.  “Now we know it’s reality. It’s going to be done,” she added.  “My children are going to have a license plate, my grandchildren are going to have a license plate, and it’s heartwarming.”

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