A bench honoring a fallen Missouri police officer and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran has been placed in a veterans cemetery, thanks in part to a local Legionnaire.
Thanks in part to the effort of members of Henry Meldrun American Legion Post 114 in Sikeston, Mo., a Sikeston Department of Public Safety officer killed in the line of duty will be honored in the local veterans park.
A bench was dedicated in April at Veterans Park to honor Sikeston Police Officer Henry Franklin, who was killed in the line of duty at age 41 when he was shot and killed by a barricaded suspect. Franklin had served for nearly 20 years in the military in both the Missouri Army National Guard and the U.S. Army, deploying twice to Iraq as a member of the 101st Airborne Division.
Blair Moran, Post 114’s service officer, serves on Veterans Park Committee and said he and the Committee President Steve Taylor came up with the idea to honor Franklin. “We just thought it was important that the community realize his service and sacrifice,” Moran said. “That bench is a reminder each and every day of that service and sacrifice – and, of course, the ultimate sacrifice for the Sikeston community.”
Moran then reached out to his friend, Amy Christian, who is the owner of Christian Memorial Co. in nearby Dexter. Christian said she would donate the bench. Moran donated the money to provide the concrete base for the bench, while another Post 114 member funded bringing a pump to the site to provide water for the concrete pad.
“It was a team effort,” Moran said. “That’s what we’re all about: to remember the service and sacrifice of people like Officer Franklin.”
At the dedication ceremony, Post 114 provided an honor guard, while Past Post 114 Commander Jim Walton helped lift the U.S. flag draped across the bench to unveil it to the community.
“This memorial bench is a reminder to our generation and future generations of the service and sacrifice that Officer Franklin made for our country and the ultimate sacrifice he made for our community,” said Moran.
Post 114’s effort to recognize Franklin is a continuation of its longtime service to community. Recently, the post made a $32,000 donation to the Missouri Veterans Cemetery’s Assistance League in nearby Bloomfield. The donation will cover seeding, fertilizing and weed control at the cemetery.
Post 114 has donated close to $400,000 to the Assistance League, of which Moran serves as president. Previous donations have provided a new bell tower at the cemetery, and funded central heat and air, a state-of-the-art sound system for the committal shelter, LED lighting for the flagpoles, grounds upkeep and landscaping, and a new fountain in the cemetery’s lake.
“We’ve been able to do a great deal of work over there that the state can’t do, through the generous donations from our post and our Auxiliary,” Moran said. “We’re real proud of that.”
- Honor & Remembrance