Youngstown police honor fallen officers with new grave markers
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — City police officer Joe Moran doesn't like seeing things fall through the cracks.
He knows, sometimes, it can't be helped but when he noticed that the grave markers of officers who lost their lives in the line of duty were falling apart, he decided to do something about it.
Moran, with help from Detective Sgt. Dave Sweeney and a civilian employee, Clerk Laura Cruickshank, spearheaded an effort to have new markers placed on the graves of all 12 officers who lost their lives in the line of duty — from 1891 with the death of Patrolman William Freed to 2003 and the death of Patrolman Michael Hartzell.
The 12 markers are spread across six local cemeteries — Belmont Park, Calvary, and Oak Hill in Youngstown; Resurrection Cemetery in Austintown; Lake Park in Boardman; and Hubbard Union Cemetery.
Lt. Frank Rutherford, who is in charge of the dayshift for the Patrol Division, first alerted Moran to the condition of the markers.
Moran, who has been an officer for 25 years and now patrols an East Side beat on dayshift, said one of the markers was found at a flea market.
When looking for something to replace them that would be more permanent and would stand up to the elements for a long time, he turned to Chip Kovach of City Machine Technologies, a manufacturing business based in the city.
The markers made by CMT are duplicates of the originals but with improved all-weather material that should be able to withstand the change of seasons in Youngstown — where sometimes all seasons can be experienced within a 24-hour period — for years to come.
'They came out really well,' Moran said.
Kovach, whose company has worked with police on other projects, said he was given an original marker that he estimated was 100 years old made out of cast iron.
Having a design to work with, he used materials he said are similar to those used in outdoor advertising signs and signs at national parks that are designed to hold up in all kinds of weather.
He cut the signs himself, he said, at home. The time and materials were donated to the police.
'They should hold up pretty well,' Kovach said.
Cruickshank was in charge of research. She called the local cemeteries to make sure the graves were there and to get their exact locations.
She also used internet searches to help find them, Cruickshank said.
Sweeney and Cruickshank then went to each grave to place a new marker on them.
They did the work late last fall but wanted to wait until this month, when Police Memorial Week is held, to unveil them.
The department will join other departments in a memorial service at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel to honor local officers from the Mahoning Valley who have died in the line of duty.
Moran said he understands how the markers may have deteriorated over the years because no one regularly checked on them, but with 165 officers dying in the line of duty last year, he said he wants to make sure they are not forgotten.
'Sometimes things go by the wayside, but these guys need to be remembered for their sacrifices and what they did for their community,' Moran said.
Kovach said he was glad to help out but added he hopes his help is not needed again.
'I don't want to have to make any more,' he said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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