A memorial ceremony is being held to honor Kentucky game wardens who died in the line of duty.
Relatives, state officials and representatives from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky Conservation Officers’ Association will be among those attending the event, which will be held outdoors at the Kentucky Fallen Officers Memorial on Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s main campus in Frankfort at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) on Monday.
Eleven game wardens have died in the line of duty since the agency was established in 1912: Elijah Roberts, James R. Claxton, John C. Martin, James Brady McClain, Raymond Birdsong, David T. Childs, Denver Tabor, Robert C. Banker, Bernard Dean Ratliff, Douglas W. Bryant and William “Tex” Bailey.
The Kentucky Fallen Officers Memorial is located on Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s main campus at 1 Sportsman’s Lane in Frankfort.
In addition to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife remembrance on Monday, four of the fallen officers with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will also be remembered at the Kentucky Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation’s memorial ceremony at the Department of Criminal Justice Training center in Richmond at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, May 20.
The foundation will honor Game Warden Elijah Roberts, Deputy Game Warden James R. Claxton, Conservation Officer James Brady McClain and Conservation Officer Raymond Birdsong, whose names were recently inscribed on the memorial. The foundation will add additional historical names of Kentucky fallen officers each year.
For more information, visit the department’s website (fw.ky.gov) or call 1-800-858-1549, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (EDT) weekdays, excluding holidays.
(Photo: Fallen Officers Memorial, courtesy of Kentucky Today)
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today and Ken Howlett, News Director
