Macon County sergeant who died in crash honored, added to national memorial
MACON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The name of a Macon County sergeant who lost his life in a crash last year is now forever engraved on a stone wall nearly 700 miles away in Washington D.C.
Sgt. William Jace Cherry was among seven Tennessee law enforcement officers whose names were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on Monday, May 13.
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Friends, family and fellow law enforcement officers from across the nation gathered on The National Mall Monday evening as those seven names and 275 others were read aloud during the 36th annual Candlelight Vigil.
The vigil held by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund recognizes law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty, with hundreds of new names added to the memorial each year.
“Their absence is felt every day by so many in so many ways,” Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said during the vigil. “May all of us continue to be blessed by their memories, their stories and the remarkable lives that they led.”
Cherry’s family was accompanied by two Macon County Sheriff’s deputies who traveled to the nation’s capital to memorialize their fallen comrade. His loss was felt strongly across the Middle Tennessee law enforcement community, with hundreds showing up for his funeral in August.
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“Sgt. Cherry was an absolutely honorable deputy, he served with honor, dignity,” Macon County Sheriff Joseph Wilburn said following his death. “With the community outreach it just shows to his character what he’s done for this community and how sadly he’ll be missed.”
Cherry was roughly seven miles away from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, where he served for more than half a decade, when the crash happened on Saturday, July 29, 2023. He was on-duty at the time and heading south on Highway 10 near Long Creek Road.
Around 12:30 a.m., a Ford F-150 heading north crossed over the center line and hit Cherry head-on. Officials said Cherry died in the crash. Afterward, a man who lived near the crash site said he looked out his window and saw a sea of blue lights down the road.
“There was blue lights from here as far as I could see up down the road,” JC Frye said.
In an interview last month, Cherry’s window, Aleatheia Cherry told News 2 her world was turned upside down after she learned of what had happened. She has since launched two scholarships in her husband’s name to help students pursue a career in the field he loved.
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“He was my soulmate. He was everything,” she said. “He loved law enforcement, and that was his calling, and he loved to help people. That’s what he said he went into it for. He loved to help people.”
Prior to joining the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Cherry served with the Red Boiling Springs Police Department, Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Celina County Sheriff’s Office. He was 55 years old when he passed away and is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and parents.
The following Tennessee law enforcement officers were also added to the memorial on Monday:
James Michael Russ, Chattanooga Police Department
Tucker Carmichael Blakely, Knox County Sheriff’s Office
Shannon Eric “Shane” Lang Sr., Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Geoffrey Bernard Redd, Memphis Police Department
Thomas Park Neely, Middleton Police Department
Christopher Byard Cummings, Samburg Police Department
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