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Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Memories and lessons from ‘the darkest day in OHP history'
CADDO, Okla. (KFOR) — The spotlight of memory can glow or glare depending on what those memories contain. 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 Follow Galen's Great State adventures on social media! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Escape to America: An Edmond author adds to the many harrowing stories that came from the Fall of Saigon in 1975
EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — Memories and the words to describe them. Amy M. Le works with both to grapple with her family history after the collapse of Saigon, and the destruction of her family. 'It was amazing how resilient, not only my mom but the people who were left behind were,' she says. She is the author of several books, including her own memoir from that time. Only an infant in the Spring of 1975, her father was a South Vietnamese soldier but secretly married to an American. 'He was literally splitting his time between our family and his American wife,' learned Amy. When it came time to evacuate, Amy's mother refused. 'My mom was like, 'No.' 'Why would I go with you and your American wife. What would I do there?'' said Amy. It would be another four years before Amy, her mother, and cousin could try to escape the country. They did so under the cover of darkness and beneath a hail of bullets, only to be cast adrift on an overcrowded boat. Amy was stuffed inside a putrid hold. 'It was horrible,' she recalls. 'It's one thing that still triggers me when I smell something like that.' Some of their number fell victim to pirates. Malaysian authorities wouldn't take them at first. They burned their boat rather than return to sea. Stifling tears, Amy relates, 'We had a lot of women and children who were either stolen from us or raped. But we were lucky, in a sense, that all of us did make it to a refugee camp.' A sponsor from Seattle brought them to the U.S. Throughout her young life, Amy remained in dire need of heart surgery due to a congenital defect. 'Doctors told us they didn't think I would live past the age of five,' said Amy. She's written about all these things from the perspective of safety. Her mother's photograph looks down from a shrine in Le's Edmond home, still on guard, still watching. 'It's to honor my mom and the incredible woman that she was,' smiles Amy. Amy, her husband, and son moved to Oklahoma several years ago, surprised to find a community filled with similar stories. She added hers to that collective, the memories always carried forward. Amy M. Le's 'The Snow Trilogy' is a novelization of her mother's struggle to survive those years and live in America. She has dedicated herself to helping other authors get their own stories into print. For more information, go to Quill Hawk Publishing here. Great State is sponsored by True Sky Credit Union Follow Galen's Great State adventures on social media! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
