Memories and lessons from ‘the darkest day in OHP history'
For both Bob Young and OHP Capt. Ronnie Grimes, the events of May 26th, 1978, are impossible to forget.
Young was 21 years old in the Summer of that year.
Hampton was just a kid, but as they pore over old headlines and pictures from a 47-year-old crime scene, neither can look away.
'I needed to know exactly what happened,' explains Young. 'What were Dad's footsteps?'
As Memorial Day approached in 1978, Hampton recalls that people in Bryan and Hughes Counties were scared.
Two escapees from the prison in McAlester had been on the loose for more than a month, robbing and killing across three states.
'They were very, very violent people,' states Hampton.
Fugitives and law enforcement finally came together on a county road north of Durant, at a place called Nails Crossing.
Bob Young's father, Billy, and another veteran trooper, 'Pappy' Grimes, headed off a stolen pickup truck driven by the escapees.
Both Young and Summers lost their lives in a hail of bullets.
From the original shooting scene near the community of Kenefic, Hampton points, 'Trooper Young was struck in the forehead, and he fell at the back of the car.'
The manhunt for both fugitives ended violently in the town of Caddo.
'Just a few seconds at Kenefic, then a few seconds at Caddo,' Hampton continues.
Two more troopers who were first on the scene took fire as well.
Pat Grimes was killed there.
His partner, Hoyt Hughes, was wounded but recovered.
Both fugitives were slain.
'It was a high price to pay,' Hampton remarks.
There are two separate memorial sites now.
The marker at Nails Crossing was placed there in 2019.
Both men have dedicated parts of their lives to studying what happened that day, Young to keep his father's memory alive.
'It was on my mind every day,' he says.
Hampton says his memories of the event convinced him to become a highway patrol officer.
'It was really a defining incident in my life,' He claims.
Studying what happened, walking the same ground as those who gave their lives, doesn't ever get easier.
Polishing the marker at the site in Kenefic, Young admits, 'It took a long time to actually want to be out here at this location.'
But they insist it's still important to draw the proper lessons, to remember the sacrifices three men made that day to serve and protect.
'They were doing what police officers, deputies, and troopers are doing all over the country, every day,' explains Hampton.
For more information on the three killed on May 26, 1978, and other troopers who lost their lives in the line of duty, visit the Officer Down Memorial page by clicking here.
Great State is sponsored by True Sky Credit Union
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- Chicago Tribune
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