Putnamville Post conducts annual ISP memorial service

Indiana State Police in Putnamville hold a memorial ceremony for their fallen comrades on Wednesday. The service was held to remind others that the people who undertake the uniform will not be forgotten by future members of the Indiana State Police. Commercial Vehicle Officer Cindy Gray, Trooper Ryan Burkhiser, Trooper David Patroski, Trooper Jonathan Cumbie and Sgt. Jason Miller lower flags as part of the ISP color guard in honor of fallen officers at the end of the memorial ceremony.

PUTNAMVILLE -- The Indiana State Police Post at Putnamville conducted its annual memorial service Wednesday, honoring those members of the department who have given their lives in the line of duty.

Troopers were brought to attention and prepared for roll call Wednesday morning by Putnamville District Assistant Commander First Sgt. Matt Mischler.

Members of the Putnamville District Honor Guard then displayed the American and Indiana state flags as Area V commander Capt. Bob Burke and Lt. Dan Jones, commander of the Putnamville District, read each fallen member's name, along with a description of the circumstances surrounding his or her death.

After reading the names of those fallen officers, Heath Pruitt, a math teacher at South Putnam High School, played "Taps."

The ceremony concluded with bagpipes instrumentalist Lucas Cody playing "Amazing Grace" and the closing benediction given by Indiana State Police Chaplain Don Moran.

A Crawfordsville High School senior, Cody is the son of ISP Crime Scene Investigator Sgt. Jim Cody, who is assigned to the Putnamville Post.

Members of the Putnamville Honor Guard were Sgt. Jason Miller and troopers David Petrowski, Jonathan Cumbie and Ryan Purk-hiser, as well as Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer Cindy Gray.

Other attendees included ISP General Headquarters personnel, Terre Haute District and Putnamville District retirees and their families, Indiana Department of Corrections staff, members of the U.S. Secret Service and Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and local dignitaries, one of whom was Putnam County Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges (himself a former ISP trooper).

A total of 46 members of the Indiana State Police, both men and women, have died in the line duty since the department's inception in 1933.

Since the early days of the Indiana State Police, memorial services have been conducted each May at all Indiana State Police districts to perpetuate the memory of those who have died in the line of duty.

The Putnamville branch had two members on the list of officers lost while on duty. The Putnamville officers listen names are read off of officers killed in the line of duty

"The service serves as a means of paying tribute to those who died in the line of duty," Sgt. Joe Watts, public information officer at Putnamville, said, "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 for which our departed comrades so unselfishly gave their lives."

The initial memorial service was held on Memorial Day 1943 at the former Ligonier Post in northern Indiana.

For a complete listing of Indiana troopers 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 "In Memoriam" link.