16-05-2025
Lives, service of fallen officers recognized on Peace Officers Memorial Day
Never forget the sacrifices of the fallen, participants in a special memorial ceremony on Thursday urged.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 118 annual Police Memorial was held at the Fayette County Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in Fayetteville. The event is staged annually in observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day.
'May you never be forgotten,' Det. Cpl. Brian Fernandez, of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, said as he completed reading the names on the Roll Call of Honor, which annually is read at the solemn ceremony and this year included the names of 241 West Virginia law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty.
The first name Fernandez intoned as he stepped to the podium to follow Cpl. C.G. Kennedy, of the Fayetteville Police Department, in reading the list of the fallen was Roger Lee Treadway, a Fayette County Sheriff's Department deputy who was killed in the line of duty on Oct. 8, 1975.
Treadway, a military veteran, was shot and killed after he and his partner stopped to aid what they thought was a disabled motorist on U.S. Route 60 near Hico in the early morning hours of Oct. 8 nearly 50 years ago.
Helping Fernandez and Kennedy recite the names of the fallen were Fayetteville Chief of Police T.M. Hogan and Patrolman First Class A. Bias, representing the Oak Hill Police Department.
Ahead of his closing prayer, FOP Chaplain Retired Sgt. Charles Bryant, of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, said he served with and/or worked with some of the officers whose names are on the list of fallen. That included Treadway, with whom Bryant recalled making plans to meet for a meal after their shifts on that fateful morning. Treadway was killed not responding to a call which portended anything bad to come, Bryant said, but 'he stopped to assist a motorist, and because of that he was shot ...'
'Never let your guard down,' Bryant told current officers. 'Watch after each other, because lot of times that's all you have.'
Fayette County Circuit Judge Thomas K. Fast delivered the keynote remarks Thursday.
'Memorial services are meant for us to remember our history,' Fast said after the ceremony. 'We can learn from our history.
'Officers can take this as a reminder, as Officer Bryant stated, to be alert and never let your guard down. Stay dedicated and stay true to the calling.'
'These services are important,' Fast said. 'If we just forgot about it, where would that get us? Nowhere.'
Susie Smith, the mother of slain Beckley Police Department Detective Corporal Charles Eugene 'Chuck' Smith II, attended Thursday, as she has in past years.
'Time has its way of dimming things,' she said. 'Of course, it's easier. You gotta go on,' she said, adding, 'You never forget, never get over it.'
'I come for Chuck,' Smith said. 'It's more about remembering, and showing officers that are here today how important it is ... to stay vigilant. That's the biggest thing.'
'Honor, respect and remember, that's what I say,' she added.
Her son's sense of humor is her favorite memory of him, she said. 'He was very funny, a prankster. He was a lot of fun.'
The service was 'beautiful as always,' said Smith, who was joined at the event by Chuck's aunt, Barb Workman, and his sister, Robyn Hensley.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Chuck Smith was shot and killed on Aug. 29, 2006 as he and another officer participated in an undercover narcotics purchase on South Fayette Street at approximately 4 a.m. Smith was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Beckley PD for 5 1/2 years.
In addition to Smith and Treadway, fallen officers represented in photographs on the stage Thursday included Deputy Sheriff William G. 'Billy' Giacomo, Deputy Sheriff Claude C. Hamilton, Sgt. Thomas E. Baker III, Patrolman Carl Dale Buckland and Sgt. David Lee Lilly.
Detective-Lt. James R. Pack, of the Oak Hill Police Department and also the master of ceremonies, offered his appreciation to those in attendance 'to honor the officers that have given that ultimate sacrifice, which is their life.'
Pack said lodge members had discussed the possibility of reducing the number of names read each year in order to shorten the ceremony, but then he stumbled on a quote that said, in part, 'In life you die twice. The first time you die is when you take your last breath, your heart beats your last beat. The second time is when your name is spoken for the last time. ... As long as we have anything to say about it,' the officers on the list 'will never die the second time.'
Bryant prayed for strength for 'the family members that are still suffering through the pain and the loss of their loved ones.'
During the afternoon, Heavens Harmony performed 'Scars In Heaven' and 'Go Rest High On That Mountain.' Monty Price concluded the ceremony with a stirring rendition of 'Taps,' and a reception followed.
On Wednesday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a proclamation ordering flags in West Virginia to be flown at half staff on May 15 in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day.
'Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day for our safety,' Morrisey said in a press release. 'May we always remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, and may we pledge to do everything in our power to keep our brave officers safe.
'Thank you to every peace officer across West Virginia for protecting our communities.'
Morrrisey further encouraged citizens of West Virginia to join all Americans to honor the federal, state and local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty, in gratitude and in support of their continuing efforts to protect the rights and safety of the citizens and their freedoms.
