Fallen troopers to be honored

Nita Johnson, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

May 15—The end of May brings Memorial Day, in which families honor their loved ones gone before by placing flowers on their graves.

The KSP Post 11 in London will also honor their own fallen officers with memorial wreaths placed on their graves on May 22 through May 24 — one of which is buried at A.R. Dyche Memorial Park in London.

KSP Post 11 Public Affairs Officer Scottie Pennington said that troopers from the London post will place a wreath on the grave of Highway Patrolman Lieutenant Vadas G. Richardson, who died at age 35 while he approached a parked vehicle that he thought needed assistance. Richardson was fatally shot during that incident which took place on Oct. 7, 1945, near London.

Pennington added the shooting occurred near the current state police post and that four persons were later arrested in relation to the shooting.

The ceremony for Richardson will take place on Friday, May 23, at 9:30 a.m. Family, friends and citizens are welcome to attend the service.

Other officers honored include Trooper John Wayne Hutchinson, 29, who was shot while arresting a drunk driver on June 4, 1975, in McCreary County. He is buried in Elk Springs Cemetery in Wayne County. The wreath will be paced on Hutchinson's grave on Wednesday, May 22.

Trooper Elmer Mobley Jr., 33, died when the cruiser in which he and another trooper, Cecil W. Uzzle, struck some rocks that had fallen in the roadway near Pike County on May 28, 1964. Heavy rain and dense fog prevented the troopers from seeing the large rocks. Mobley is buried in the Oneida Settlement School in Clay County, and the Wildcat Creek Bridge on KY 11 has been designated as "Trooper Elmer Mobley Memorial Bridge." He will be honored on May 23.