 | Deputy Sheriff Millard Owen Messersmith
Rutherford County Sheriff's Department
North Carolina
Thursday, May 31, 1979 |
Your heroism and service is honored today, the 30th anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service to my home state and the birthplace of my son. My cherished son Larry Lasater was a fellow police officer who was murdered in the line of duty on April 24, 2005 while serving as a
Pittsburg, CA police officer.
Time never diminishes respect. Your memory will always be honored and revered. Rest In Peace.
What a devastating blow to your families and your agencies to lose three officers in one incident.
Phyllis Loya Anonymous
2009-05-31
Deputy Messersmith, thank you for your service and dedication to duty. I attended a memorial service today at the Rutherford Co. Sheriffs Dept. marking the 30th Anniversery of this tragic incident. Rest in peace brother you will never be forgotton Ptl. P.D Robbins
Forest City Police Dept. Forest City, NC
2009-05-31
Deputy Messersmith your work as we know it on this Earth is done. You are in God's Hands now brother. May you rest in peace. SGT. Daryl Brewer
Clarksville Police Dept. Clarksville, Tennessee
2008-06-02
"The Badge"
He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.
He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.
Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.
He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.
His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.
He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.
And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.
But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.
Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.
Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.
So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.
In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.
Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.
Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1999 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC
2007-12-27
Rest in peace. Thank you for your service. State Constable J.L. Green
S.C. State Constables
2007-05-31
I stop by this website often after the death of two dear friends with the NCSHP (Troopers Calvin Taylor E.O.W. October 3, 2001 and Anthony Cogdill E.O.W. May 30, 2003).
We all grieve over the lives lost in the line of duty. I hope you can find some comfort knowing that there are countless prayers that go out for your family.
These are senseless tragedies that never seem to stop. God Bless the men and women who continue to serve their communities in our great Nation.
...Gone, but never Forgotten....
Marti (EMT-Paramedic)
Haywood Co EMS (NC)
2004-04-05
"It is not the critic who counts,
Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly,
who errs and comes short again and again because there is
no effort without error and shortcomings,
who knows the great devotion,
who spends himself in a worth cause,
who at best knows in the end the high achievement of
triumph and
who at worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows his place
shall never be with those timid and cold souls who know
neither victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt
In memory of Deputies Messersmith and Huskey and Trooper Peterson ... Gone but not forgotten.
May 31, 2003
Anonymous
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