Wanda English Burnett, Editor

“Remember when...” was the popular theme of many sentences as officers from the Indiana State Police Versailles Post reminisced last Thursday, May 8, as they gathered for a memorial service.
The banter was lighthearted as friends met, remembering the time when gas was 18.9 cents per gallon. “Remember when you rolled down your windows claiming it saved gas?” Ken Grieves asked Noel Houze. Laughter broke out around the table where some of the old timers were seated including Ed Lewis, Jack Kixmiller, Jim Theibold, Bob Cannon, Noel Houze, Don Lows, John Scudder and Ed Hunter.

Others joined the conversations, remembering jokes they played on each other, ancedotes, the stuff that kept them strong while doing a job that put their lives on the line every moment of every shift. They are the survivors. Others were not as fortunate and they knew they were there to honor their fallen comrades’ lives. The mood would quickly change as one by one the names of those who gave their lives in the line of duty were called by Lieutenant Marty D. McKinney and Captain Jimmie D. Durnil as rows of uniformed officers, along with those who are retired, stood at attention.

Two familiar Ripley County names were called, one of those being Trooper William R. Rayner, who was appointed September 1, 1957. Christmas would never be the same for the Rayner family when this trooper was killed in the line of duty December 18, 1966. He was shot and killed by escapees from a Kentucky state prison who were in a stolen car along I-74 in Decatur County. The Ripley County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge is named after Trooper Rayner.

For the second time in the history of the Versailles Post, a trooper was killed in the line of duty. Trooper Andrew P. Winzenread (Osgood) was appointed December 4, 1994, and after serving less than three years, was killed April 25, 1997, when he was struck by a tractor-trailer while assisting a stranded motorist on I-74 in Decatur County.

The officers are familiar with the line in a poem that was printed in the program on Thursday that reads, “While we slept in comfort behind our locked doors, a trooper put his life on the line.” They know their lives are on the line.

Thankful her husband was standing at attention and not having his name called, Connie Otter, wife of Lt. Raymond Otter, shared, “I just feel so blessed that his name isn’t called.” But, she knows the sacrifice others have made and knows this is what her husband chose to do and she supports him.
Indiana State Police Chaplain Rev. Robert Cannon gave the benediction to end the service. Old friends met with active troopers, and together with those who attended from the community including the prosecutor and sheriff, they enjoyed lunch and fellowship.

WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT PHOTOS Pictured above officers stand at attention as names of fallen comrades are read in a memorial service that took place at the Indiana State Police Versailles Post last Thursday. The ceremony was held indoors due to the inclement weather. Usually it is held outside centered around the memorial stone on the front lawn at the post. Pictured at right are Captain Jimmie D. Durnil and Lt. Marty D. McKinney, who read the roll call.