Boller to honor Indiana’s fallen officers with race car design

Friday, August 30, 2019
A 16-year veteran of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and two-time season champion at Lincoln Park Speedway, Deputy Josh Boller will unveil a new “Remember the Fallen” design to his 05B Super Stock car Saturday night at the Putnamville dirt track.
Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

When Josh Boller takes the track at Lincoln Park Speedway Saturday evening, he’s going to have a little more riding with him than normal.

Sure, he’ll be looking for his ninth win of the season at the Putnamville dirt oval and his 13th of 2019 overall. He’ll also be carrying with him his track lead in points in the Super Stock division and even the national points lead in the UMP Sportsman division.

But he’ll also have with him Constable John Welch, an Evansville police officer killed in the line of duty in 1862 — some 24 years before the first automobile was invented.

The car bears the names of some 400 Indiana police officers who have died in the line of duty over the course of more than 150 years.
Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

He’ll have Sgt. Ben Bertram of the Charlestown Police Department, who died in the line of duty last December.

There will also be Sgt. George Campbell, the Indiana State Trooper who died while working at the Putnamville weigh station in 1969, a stone’s throw from where Lincoln Park had first opened a year before.

There will also be Putnam County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Jim Baugh, whose end of watch came on Jan. 2, 2004 when he wrecked his patrol car north of Greencastle.

Boller also uses the hood of the car to pay tribute to 10 deceased K9 officers who have served PCSD since the early 1980s.
Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

Boller, who by day is a Putnam County sheriff’s deputy, was less than two years into his time with the sheriff’s department when Baugh passed away.

Now a 16-year veteran (he left the department for one year), Boller thought the time was right to honor the fallen law enforcement officers in the Indiana’s history, beginning with Constable Welch on through today.

As such, beginning this Saturday, the graphics on Boller’s 05B car will not only feature a “Remember the Fallen” logo, but will also have a remembrance of some 400 officers who’ve given their lives in the line of duty in the Hoosier State.

Boller will race with the design through September as he pursues the track championships at both Lincoln Park and Paragon Speedway.
Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

Boller knows that neither racing nor police work are the kinds of things a person does forever.

“At this time in my racing career and in law enforcement, it became the right time,” Boller said. “My years of service and the years of racing are about equal.”

So for the month of September, Boller will not only try to continue on the hot streak that has been 2019, he’ll also be honoring those who gave their last full measure of devotion protecting the people of the state.

More than two dozen police officers from departments that include the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, Greencastle Police Department, Cloverdale Police Department, Indiana State Police, Indiana State Excise Police and Indiana Conservation Officers gather as Deputy Josh Boller (kneeling) unveils the new “Remember the Fallen” design of his race car, which will be on the track at Lincoln Park Speedway this Saturday.
Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

Not only is each officer individually listed, but so is his or her rank, department and end of watch date. It’s been a painstaking process for Boller’s graphics maker, KBC Graphix in Sumner, Ill.

“My graphics guy wasn’t exactly happy with me in the last month,” Boller said. “He’s put in a lot of work.”

The task of compiling and double checking the list would have been daunting enough.

“The sheriff and the employees here have helped me put this together,” Boller said. “The sheriff’s department has always been supportive of my racing.”

Though he does not currently have a K9 partner, Boller is also proud to have formerly served with two different K9 officers — Sivo and Tango.

For that reason, the hood of the car bears the likeness, or at least the name, of 10 deceased K9 officers who have served PCSD since the early 1980s, partnering with Danny Wallace, Mike Johnson, Mark Frisbie, Dwight Simmons, Craig Sibbitt and Boller.

“I’m super supportive of the K9 department,” Boller said “I wanted to show respect for the dogs.”

While none of the dogs on the car died in the line of duty, Boller is still proud of their records of service.

“They’ve all put in their time for this department and I wanted to show respect,” he said.

The department currently has three dogs — Maj. Simmons’ partner Bo, Deputy Anthony Brown’s partner Mack and Deputy Kyle Lee’s partner Cain. All three were in attendance, as well as Cloverdale Deputy Marshall Levi App’s partner Maggie, Thursday afternoon when the new graphics on Boller’s car were unveiled at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.

In fact, more than 25 area law enforcement officers were present, representing not only PCSD, but Greencastle PD, Cloverdale PD, Indiana State Police, Indiana State Excise Police and Indiana Conservation Officers.

The officers in attendance were nothing but supportive of Boller and what he’s trying to do, but they won’t be the last folks who get a chance to have a good look at the 05B with its special design.

The first chance will be at Lincoln Park this Saturday, when the car will be parked at the top of the hill near the grandstand from 4-6:30 p.m. prior to the racing.

After he returns to the pits, Boller will have the honor of taking a lap around the track during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” sporting a Thin Blue Line American flag as he goes.

After that, the plan is to race the car not only on Saturday, but throughout September, which includes races at both Lincoln Park and Paragon in Morgan County.

There will be a lot on the line for Boller in the coming weeks, not only trying to hold the national points lead, but trying to lock down the track championships at both Lincoln Park (where he won the Super Stock title in 2015 and 2016) and Paragon.

But with all those partners on board what remains a one-seater automobile, Boller should have just a little extra motivation.

“We did it to show respect for those who sacrificed their lives for their communities,” Boller said.

Comments
View 2 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Awesome. Thank you Officer Boller.

    -- Posted by canttakeitanymore on Fri, Aug 30, 2019, at 3:49 PM
  • Absolutely fantastic. A big thank you to Deputy Boller.

    -- Posted by Queen53 on Fri, Aug 30, 2019, at 6:38 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: