Memorial honors fallen heroes in Raleigh, including officers killed in Charlotte
Good morning
Welcome to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Fallen
Heroes Memorial
Please stand for the presentation of the colors and the
memorial wreath
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Our father and our God carrier of hope and creator
of life be present among us enable us to be
brave in our remembering honest in our sorrow and open
in love and compassion for each other
Help us to seek not much so much answers to
our questions but rather patience to mourn and grieve
Enable us to remember with joy the lives of those
we lost and loved send us your peace
Oh God help us keep going
Remind us that time will never erase the memories that
are forever embedded in us but we know that we
are not alone as we gather here together
Amen
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Good morning everyone
And thank you for being here with us on this
day of remembrance
Uh It's now my honor to introduce to you the
75th governor of the State of North Carolina Roy Cooper
Please be seated
Everybody deeply appreciate the invitation to come by today to
say a few words from the heart
On this important occasion we are gathered to remember and
honor the fallen heroes of the North Carolina Department of
Correction Adult Correction who lost their lives in the line
of duty
We also gathered to say thank you to their loved
ones and acknowledge their profound loss
The duty of an Officer of Adult Correction brings a
lot of stress and sometimes even danger
Just last week a brutal attack killed two exemplary correction
officers who were simply doing their duty to protect the
public that they served with honor
I spent time in meetings in services and on the
phone with family members friends fellow officers
And this loss is profound Sam Ploce and Alden Elliott
the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Joshua Iyer of
the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and Thomas weeks of the
US Marshal service are heroes and they will never ever
be forgotten just as the fallen officers of the North
Carolina Department of Correction that go back to the year
1915 who died in the line of duty will never
ever be forgotten
One thing that I think these fallen officers would want
us to do is to strongly advocate for and support
the officers that they left behind
They would want us to pursue better pay training and
equipment
They would want us to show deep appreciation for the
critical work
Correction officers do keeping our prisons safe keeping our communities
safe and yes helping to turn lives around
Your work is so difficult complicated stressful and dangerous
Yet you do it because you know that keeping people
safe is purposeful and that your work makes a real
difference in this world
I'm grateful deeply grateful for the strength and resilience
The men and women of this department continue to show
and I am grateful to your families who see you
walk out that door every single day
My prayers are with those families who've lost these officers
and my prayers are with these families who see their
officers go to work
My most sincere prayers go out to the families and
friends
We have lost this past week and over the years
Thank you very much
Thank you Governor Cooper
It's an honor to have you here with us this
morning
I want to also thank we've got a number of
of dignitaries here that have joined us this morning
Uh fellow cabinet secretaries
Uh We have also a number of former secretaries of
of correction and secretaries of public safety that oversaw corrections
operations across our state
Uh We're joined by uh us Marshal Glenn mcneil and
CM BC MP D Deputy Chief Chicory
And we thank you
Thank you for being here with us today and thank
you to our other other distinguished guests that have joined
us today
As we gather in remembrance we pay tribute to the
brave men and women who over many decades this past
year and tragically this past week served with the utmost
dedication within our corrections family alongside all law enforcement and
as partners within our federal agencies
Their lives were dedicated to the pursuit of keeping us
safe
A testament to the resilience and fortitude required in the
tremendously challenging field of corrections
For many years to present day we will always remember
the faces the voices and the spirits of those that
we have lost
Each name called out today represents a story of ultimate
sacrifice courage and steadfast commitment
They were the guardians of our institutions the protectors of
our communities and the unsung heroes of our society in
remembering our fallen officers and staff as we acknowledge the
profound loss felt by their families friends and loved ones
For years they stood by their side offering support encouragement
and love to the families
We extend our deepest condolences and heartfelt gratitude
for the ultimate sacrifices that you have endured today
However our hearts are particularly heavy as we mourn the
tragic loss of our very own officer Sam Pucci Holden
Elliott alongside deputy us Marshal Thomas Weeks and C MP
D Officer Joshua hire those we enter today were not
just colleagues they were our brothers our sisters our partners
our friends and pillars of strength within our agency
Their dedication to upholding the law and protecting everyone was
unwavering
Their sudden departure has left a void that will never
be filled together as a corrections family
We stand before this memorial
Let us not only honor honor their memory but also
renew our commitment to upholding the values that they each
held dear
Let us strive to embody the same courage compassion and
integrity that defined their service to the great state of
North Carolina
Let us ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain
by continuing to uphold the principles of safety protection and
rehabilitation not just within our correctional system and in our
communities across this great state and nation
For those who can continue to serve on the front
lines behind our prison walls and out in our communities
we express our deepest gratitude
Your Dedi dedication resilience courage and constant commitment to duty
inspires all of us in honoring our fallen officers and
staff
We honor the very essence of our correctional and law
enforcement community
A community built on compassion integrity and solidarity
May their memory serve as a beacon of hope guiding
us as we navigate the challenges ahead and reaffirm our
commitment to justice safety and service
Thank you ladies and gentlemen esteemed colleagues and friends
Today we also gather in part to honor those from
our family
We lost in 2023
Each one of the staff we name has made some
contribution gave something or invested something here at the Department
of Adult Correction as part of their lives from institutions
Latteria Johnson Seth Carawan Kimberly Harrison Robin Winston Williams Andrew
Swinson Christopher Davis Crystal Melton William Church Brian Beard Jesus
Cruz John Carmen James George Andrew DiMartino Matthew Lunsford Bobby
Lewis Deborah Kristen Byron Franklin Curtis Jones Theodore Mitchum dancing
rainwater Patrick Canterbury Sherry Thornberg Kimberly Wynn from community supervision
Laura Zink Erica Conrad from alcoholism and chemical dependency programs
Brady Kisling and from office of Staff development and training
He bowers
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Let us have a moment of silence
as we bid farewell to those we have lost
Let us honor their memory by embodying the qualities that
they exemplified
Their spirits will forever be a part of our team
and they will be deeply missed
Good morning
Good morning today as we gather here to pay homage
to the courageous souls that made the ultimate sacrifice in
the line of duty within the Department of Adult Correction
As we stand before this memorial we are reminded of
the profound dedication and selflessness displayed by those who serve
within our ranks
Each name etched on this monument represents not just an
individual but a legacy of unwavering commitment to the safety
and betterment of our communities
These brave men and women answered the call to serve
knowing full well the risks involved
Yet they marched far forward with courage and conviction
Their memory serves as a beacon guiding us through the
darkest times reminding us of the inherent dangers that accompany
our noble profession
But let us also remember the light they brought into
the lives of countless others the lives they touched the
hope they instilled and the justice they upheld
Today we honor their sacrifice by renewing our pledge to
uphold the values
They cherished integrity compassion and unwavering resolve
Let us carry their legacy forward with pride and honor
ensuring that their sacrifices were not in vain
May we never forget the heroes who gave their all
in service to others
May their memory inspire us to strive for excellence and
all that we do
And may their families find solace in knowing that their
loved ones will forever be remembered as guardians of justice
and defenders of freedom
Thank you
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Thank you
Uh Deputy Secretary Buchholz for those remarks and your leadership
within D AC
This is a time in our program now where we
honor our colleagues and our friends and our family members
of Department of Corrections who paid the ultimate price
This is when we remember and thank them for all
their efforts and their service
William Vance Lee
End of March 9 1119 89
David Sean corner end of Watch 7 1299
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Yeah Jeffrey Lynn
Settle end of March 8 4 2011
She just went up like
Linda Crop
End of March 5 30 2016
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Good morning institutions
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JC Freeman
End of watch 9 1819 15 Thomas Peter Sale
End of Watch January 28th 1916
AD Spivey end of March August the 30th 1928
Ernest Hooks end of March August the 30th 1934
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Andrew Lewis Askew
End of watch February 22nd 1935
James S Cheer
End of watch
December 28th 1939
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H Carl Keith end of watch May 25th 1945
George S Bowman
End of March March 4th 1947
Kermit Dale Jackson
End of March
July 21st
1960
Yeah Earl Strickland
End of March June 2nd 1969
Jeanette W Fish
End of March May 19th 1975
Randall C Cup
End of watch June 5th 1986
Allen Kirk
End of March
July 15th 1991
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Yeah Leslie John Beasy
End of March
June 30th 1992
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William Davis
End of March November 16th 1998
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David Anthony
End of March
October 27th 1998
Yeah Shannon Smith
End of March November 9th 1999
Yeah Jimmy Fisher
End of watch January 2nd 2007
Edward pounds
End of March January 9th 2010
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William Lee Wright
End of March April 12th 2012
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Ok
Keith to Carlo Smith
End of March December the 1st 2012
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Yeah Megan Callahan
End of March
April 26
2017
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Yeah Justin James Smith
End of March October the 12th 2017
Wendy Shannon end of Watch October the 30th 2017
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Jeffrey Allen
Howie
End of Watch November the 12th
2017
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Yeah
Yeah
Travis Oates
End of March February the 2nd 2021
Helen May Smith
End of March February the 3rd 2022
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Yes
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Central Engineering
Jeffrey mckay
End of March August 14th 2023
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Correction Enterprises Veronica Darden
End of Watch October 12th
2017
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Special operations and Intelligence unit Samuel Sam Ploce
End of watch April 29th 2024
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William Aldean Elliott
End of watch April 29th 2024
I never dreamed it would be me
My name for all eternity recorded here at this hollow
place
Alas my name
No more
Faith in the line of duty
I hear them say my family
Now the price will pay my folded flags with their
tears
We only had those few short years the badge no
longer on my chest
I sleep now in eternal rest my sword
I pass to those behind and I pray they keep
this thought in mind
I never dreamed it would be me and with a
heavy heart and a bended knee
I asked for all here from the past
Dear God
Let my name be the last
Mhm
At this time we would like to honor our two
fallen officers from Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and United States
Marshals
We have Joshua Erie
Thomas weeks
Yeah everyone please remain standing for the retiring of the
colors
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Thank you everyone for attending this morning service
And thank you to all of our speakers
We were able to be part of the ceremony as
well as our adult correction on our guard
As we conclude today's fallen Heroes memorial service in each
department to attend the day's business at hand
Let us continue to remember and honor honor those who
made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and keep North Carolina
safe to gather through all of us
They shall never be forgotten
Thank you all for joining us this morning
This concludes the 2024 D AC Fallen Heroes memorial service