News Release

National Park Service and U.S. Park Police Reflect on Duty and Sacrifice During Police Week

National Park Service law enforcement officers laying a wreath for fallen officers at a memorial service in Washington, D.C.

Department of the Interior/Tami Heilemann

News Release Date: May 16, 2017

Contact: Tom Crosson, 202-208-3046

WASHINGTON – This Police Week, the National Park Service (NPS) and the United States Park Police (USPP) reflect on the service and sacrifice of 41 law enforcement rangers and 13 police officers who have fallen in the line of duty. 

“Statistics show that every 53 hours, an officer in the United States is killed in line of duty. It is extremely noble to voluntarily take an oath to place others above yourself,” said Charles Cuvelier, NPS Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services (LESES) Division chief. “Our rangers face risk every day as they protect the nation’s most treasured natural and cultural resources. Those who have fallen while honorably serving our country will not be forgotten.”

Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services and United States Park Police officials encourage all employees to take time to honor the fallen officers from the NPS during the National Police Week activities.

There are approximately 2,300 National Park Service Law Enforcement rangers and United States Park Police officers responsible for securing and protecting more than 84 million acres across 417 National Park Service locations. 

The list of fallen officers dates back to 1913. The names of the fallen and the parks they served in are listed below by date, from the oldest to the most recent.

 Joseph E. Prince, Glacier National Park (January 9, 1913)

 Andrew J. Gaylor, Yosemite National Park (April 19, 1921)

 William D. Allen, USPP (Nov. 12, 1923)

 James A. Cary, Hot Springs National Park (March 12, 1927)

 Fred Johnson, Grand Canyon National Park (Feb. 20, 1929)

 Glen Sturdevant, Grand Canyon National Park (Feb. 20, 1929)

 William C. Godfrey, Crater Lake National Park (Nov. 17, 1930)

 Willeam J. Grissam, USPP (Mar. 20, 1932)

 Milo John Kennedy, USPP (Aug. 7, 1932)

 James Francis Grove, USPP (Jan. 28, 1933)

 Norman Nelson, Yosemite National Park (July 29, 1934)

 Kenneth Meenan, Rocky Mountain National Park (Aug. 13, 1934)

 Carl Hestikind, USPP (Feb. 18, 1936)

 Karl A. Jacobson, Acadia National Park (Nov. 11, 1938)

 Raymond Johnson, Rocky Mountain National Park (Oct. 13, 1939)

 Ivan Thompson, USPP (Jun. 14, 1940)

 Thomas P. Fogarty, USPP (Aug. 6, 1941)

 Forest Townsley, Yosemite National Park (Aug. 11, 1943)

 Joseph E. Shawhan, USPP (Apr. 15, 1944)

 Fred Bergemeyer, Zion National Park (Aug. 23, 1952)

 Charles R. Scarborough, Yosemite National Park (June 21, 1954)

 Donald H. Crawford, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites (March 14, 1958)

 James Vaughn, Grand Canyon National Park (April 26, 1958)

 John C. Fonda, Grand Teton National Park (March 9, 1960)

 Gale H. Wilcox, Grand Teton National Park (March 9, 1960)

 Michael L. Petrella, USPP (Sep. 25, 1965)

 Nathaniel R. Lacy, Rocky Mountain National Park (June 23, 1966)

 Raymond L. Hawkins, USPP (Dec. 23, 1971)

 Robert Metherell, Curecanti National Recreation Area (Feb. 7, 1973)

 Ronald V. Trussell, Bryce Canyon National Park (Feb. 7, 1973)

 Kenneth C. Patrick, Point Reyes National Seashore (Aug. 5, 1973)

 Thomas K. Brown, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Aug. 31, 1973)

 James P. Fleetwood, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (July 5, 1977)

 Gregory S. Burdine, Colonial National Historical Park (Nov. 26, 1977)

 Ward W. Hall, Grand Canyon National Park (July 16, 1979)

 Duane P. McClure, Yellowstone National Park (May 22, 1980)

 Ricardo M. Preston, USPP (Aug. 11, 1988)

 Robert McGhee Jr., Gulf Islands National Seashore (May 26, 1990)

 Robert E. Mahn Jr., Yellowstone National Park (Jan. 17, 1994)

 Ryan F. Weltman, Yellowstone National Park (July 3, 1994)

 James R. Morgenson, Kings Canyon National Park (July 23, 1996)

 Mike A. Beaulieu, Bryce Canyon National Park (Aug. 26, 1996)

 Joseph D. Kolodski, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (June 21, 1998)

 Steve R. Makuakane-Jarrell, Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park (Dec. 12, 1999)

 Kristopher W. Eggle, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Aug. 9, 2002)

 Hakim A. Farthing, USPP (Aug. 10, 2002)·  Thomas P. O’Hara, Katmai National Park & Preserve (Dec. 19, 2002)

 Suzanne E. Roberts, Haleakalā National Park (Sept. 14, 2004)

 Jeffrey A. Christensen, Rocky Mountain National Park (July 29, 2005)

 Daniel P. Madrid, Buffalo National River (Sept. 24, 2005)

 Chris Nickel, Natural Bridges and Hovenweep National Monuments (Jan. 29, 2011)

 Julie Weir, Independence National Historic Park (Feb. 24, 2011)

 Michael A. Boehm, USPP (Dec. 16, 2011)

 Margaret A. Anderson, Mount Rainier National Park (Jan. 1, 2012)

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LESES DIVISION
LESES is the national office for NPS public safety responsibilities. It serves millions of visitors to the nation’s parks by serving and supporting the more than 2,000 law enforcement rangers who make park visits safer, respond to medical emergencies and protect people and the parks.

ABOUT UNITED STATES PARK POLICE
USPP provides law enforcement to safeguard lives, protect national treasures and symbols of democracy, and preserve the natural and cultural resources entrusted to the care of the National Park Service. USPP officers are located in the Washington, New York, and San Francisco metropolitan areas. The force was created by President George Washington in 1791.