Fallen state troopers honored by motorcycle club
BUTLER TWP — When a half dozen members of the Enforcers Motorcycle Club gathered in the cold and snow at the state police barracks to honor state troopers who have died in the line of duty, their message was simple: never forget their sacrifice.
Members of the motorcycle club placed wreaths on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the State Police barracks on New Castle Road, which has a memorial for state troopers who were killed in the line duty.
“It’s important that they’re never forgotten,” Dave Smith, road captain for the local club chapter, said.
One by one, the bikers read off the names of state troopers killed in the line of duty; gave a brief description about their backgrounds; shared how they died; and held a moment of silence for each of them. The first one, Robert V. Myers, was born in the 1800s. He died in March 1913.
The state troopers from different generations that were honored have their names listed on the barracks memorial. They are: Robert V. Myers, Andrew Czap, Bernard S.C. McElroy, Bertram Beech, Brady C. Paul, Joe B. Champion, Floyd B. Clouse, Albert J. Izzo, Frank J. Bowen and Blake T. Coble.
Coble, the most recent fallen state trooper, died in October 2012, when a tractor trailer drove through a stop sign and collided with his patrol car in Beaver County.
“It’s a brotherhood. We’re all about honor and respect. Those are some of the reasons that we want to do this,” Encorcers member Mark “Detune” Hensel said. “It’s important to honor them.”
The Enforcers Motorcycle Club consists of former law enforcement and military veterans, and it has clubs across the country. The Shenango Valley chapter, which includes Butler and areas to the north, does this memorial every year.
Dec. 6 is National Fallen Heroes Day, and the club’s chapters perform the memorial as part of the Fallen Hero Wreath Program.
The Fallen Hero Wreath Program was started by the family of Philadelphia police officer John Pawlowski, who died in the line of duty in February 2009.
“We support law enforcement and military, we want people to know that there’s good individuals out here. There’s a lot of clubs that care about this,” Hensel said. “This is one of the programs we picked up, because it’s important they’re not forgotten.”
The bikers said members of their chapter were also placing wreaths in Mercer County Saturday, while other clubs performed the memorial in places around the nation.
After taking time to honor the state troopers at the barracks, the bikers were also putting wreaths at the grave sites of fallen troopers. Because some dates back to the early 1900s, they can’t find cemeteries for two of them, so the bikers make sure to do a ceremony at the barracks as a blanket memorial.
Though the holiday season is not the main reason for why they honor them now, the bikers said it’s a fitting time to remember those who lives were lost.
“They’re missing at the tables. During the holidays is when you miss people,” Smith said. “Respect has no season.”
