 | |  | Detective Frank Delmege
Des Moines Police Department
Iowa
Monday, September 20, 1909 |
From a 1921 Des Moines Police Ball Book
In loving memory of our dead heroes of peace, we, the members of the Des Moines Police Burial and Protective Association, dedicate this booklet.
Their names are not numbered among those whom a grateful people honor by eternal remembrance of their sacrifice, kept fresh through the recounting of their heroic deeds, and renewed constantly by due and fitting ceremonies to their memory.
They gave their lives not on the open field of battle, but in the constant guerrilla warfare against crime, which must be waged night and day, year in and year out, without armistice or treaty of peace, that we may enjoy our peaceful homes, hold our property in safety, and live under guarantees of our laws.
They fought their fight well, and did their duty uncomplainingly. Their lives were part of the price which we, their friends and comrades, know only to well must be paid for protection from the outlaw, the bandit, the maniac and the degenerate.
Their names are enrolled in our hearts, never to be erased. We do not remember their deaths, but their lives. Brave, big hearted Charley Jackson, Con McCarthy with his jest and laughter, quiet George Mattern and Frank Delmege, gone these many years, still walk among us and he who would shirk a dangerous task or flinch when the criminal stands at bay cannot linger long in our ranks, strengthened by the memory of these men and what they have done.
We ask of you, fellow citizen, not to forget that when the supreme test came, these men did not fail you. They were not paid mercenaries, bought with the monthly pittance of their work. They had no thought of self when they went to their deaths, they were your own representatives, and they faced the bullets of men like Dutch Cross---that these bullets should not be directed against you and yours.
With their lives and their deaths before us, we are strengthened to better service and a more faithful performance of our duty than we could be without these standards before us which we have set. They are dead, yet they still serve you. Unpaid, little honored, sometimes almost forgotten, they are still present when the roll is called, and they walk with us in midnight chase or raid, and through their past example still serve the people for whom they made the supreme sacrifice.
"Greater Love Hath No Man Than That He Lay Down His Life For His Friend" Yet perhaps even a greater love had these four, for they laid down their lives for men and women they knew not at all.
Rest in peace, Charles Jackson, Con McCarthy, Frank Delmege, George Mattern. You are not forgotten, and you still serve in our ranks. SPO William Trimble
Des Moines Police Department
2004-05-24
Frank was about 37 years old, his badge number was 14. Rest in Peace SPO William Trimble
Des Moines Police Department
2004-05-24
This is a distinction that you would rather have not had, being the first Des Moines Officer killed in the line of duty. I know you have been up there welcoming other Officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice into your midst with open arms and a heartfelt thank you. I hope to meet you some day when my time is done.
Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Mathew 5:9 Investigator Brent Curtis
Des Moines Police Department
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