It was an emotional moment Friday for family members of officers killed in the line of duty. The NYPD added the names of 43 officers to the Police Memorial Wall in Battery Park City.

"They came from different backgrounds and cultural traditions. But they all have at least one thing in common. Their lives were spent, and ultimately ended, in service to this great city and the people they cared so deeply about," said Police Commissioner James O'Neill.

There are more than 900 names on this wall, honoring officers as far back as the mid-1800s. Among the 43 added at this ceremony include Detective Miosotis Familia, who was shot and killed in The Bronx in 2017, and perhaps the most celebrated and respected detective, Steven McDonald. He also died in 2017 after living 30 years paralyzed and on a ventilator after a teen shot him in 1986.

"Honoring 43 heroes. Gave their lives for all the rest of us, not just in this generation but in years past. Gave their lives to save others. Gave their lives to make this city great," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Twenty-two died from a September 11th-related illness after working at the World Trade Center site.

"And their family members are the ones that watched them suffer, and have seen them go way too soon," said Maureen Lindsay, the widow of one of the people on the memorial wall. "I am glad they are being recognized for that. It is very important to us."

Because the wall is only 20 years old, each year, the ceremony adds the names of officers who died long ago. Eighteen were so honored this year, including Bob Watkinson's grandfather, who died in 1916. 

"Fantastic memory for us for what he has done or the City of New York and for memory of the family," Watkinson said. 

The police commissioner says unfortunately, additional families will have to make the somber trip here to the memorial wall every year.

He says the dangerous nature of police work means officers will die, and scores of officers are currently battling September 11th-related illnesses that have proved to be deadly for many others.