MADISON COUNTY – The Indiana State Police Pendleton District held its annual memorial service on Thursday, May 26 2022 for those members of the department who gave their lives in the line of duty.
Motor carrier inspectors, troopers, and civilian employees present were brought to attention and prepared for roll call. Retired department personnel and surviving family members of deceased employees were also in attendance.
Area V Captain Anthony Delello and Lieutenant Michael O’Rourke, commander of the Pendleton District read each of the 47 fallen members of the Indiana State Police that have died in the line of duty since the department’s inception in 1933: along with a description of the circumstances surrounding their death. Finishing the service, members of the Anderson High School Band played Amazing Grace on the traditional bagpipes and trumpets played the ceremonious “Taps.”
Since the early days of the Indiana State Police, memorial services have been held each May in all Indiana State Police districts to perpetuate the memory of those who have died in the line of duty.
The service serves as a means of paying tribute to those who died in the line of duty, that their sacrifice was not made in vain and as a reminder to those of us left behind that we should strive to maintain the level of professional service to the public our departed comrades so unselfishly gave their lives for.
Through the efforts of the Indiana Troopers Association, burial sites of all the department employees killed in the line of duty were located, and an Indiana State Police Memorial Flag was placed at each gravesite.
For a complete listing of Indiana State Police employees killed in the line of duty and a summary of their deaths, visit the Indiana State Police website at www.in.gov/isp and click on the “About ISP” link under Menu on the left side of the page, then click on the “In Memoriam” link.
