Memorial ceremony ‘Surrounded by Heroes’

John Oxford

May 15, 2008 10:19 pm

— MOULTRIE — There was laughter, tears and fond memories as Colquitt County remembered its five law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
The Law Enforcement Memorial service was held Thursday morning on the courthouse square. The theme for this year’s National Police Week, which is May 11 through May 17, is “Surrounded by Heroes.” Moultrie Police Cpl. Dave Underwood said the service was meant to honor those officers killed in the line of duty.
“The dignitaries today are those whose names are on that monument,” Underwood said, referring to the Officers Memorial on the square. This was the first service held since the memorial was unveiled in November.
The five officers killed in the line of duty are:
• Doerun police officer Lawrence M. O’Neal was shot and killed April 7, 1959.
• Moultrie police officer Roy Edward James, 36, was shot and killed Aug. 13, 1960.
• Georgia Department of Revenue Agent Daniel J. Hancock, 52, was killed in a car accident in Dougherty County May 17, 1962. Hancock was a Moultrie resident at the time of the accident.
• Moultrie police Lt. Thomas Jackson Meredith, 61, was shot and killed Aug. 25, 1973.
• Colquitt County sheriff’s deputy Tony Reed Wilder, 43, was shot and killed Jan. 31, 1986.
Moultrie Police Chaplain Murray Barfield said a prayer for all officers and read from Psalm 46. The Scripture had a deep meaning for law enforcement, he said, as they put their lives on the line every day as they face the turmoil in the world. He also quoted John 15:13, saying officers sacrifice themselves for everyone they serve.
Underwood spoke again and read some of the messages left behind in memory of Colquitt County’s slain officers on the Officer Down Memorial Page at www.odmp.org. He read responses left from people in New Hampshire and North Carolina to honor those killed here.
“When an officer is killed in the line of duty,” Underwood said, “more people are affected than we can imagine.”
Moultrie Police Chief Frank Lang and Colquitt County Sheriff Al Whittington read the names of six Georgia officers killed since last year’s memorial service and the five who lost their lives here. Whittington choked up and sobbed as he tried to read Wilder’s memorial information. Whittington was a deputy who responded to the scene after Wilder was shot in 1986. Lang read the information for him.
The Valdosta Fire Department’s Pipes and Drum Corp performed “Amazing Grace” following a moment of silence, and Barfield and Underwood concluded the service with prayers for officers currently serving and for the families of those left behind.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.