New Book, “Some Gave All”

The stories of the criminal justice officers in West Florida who died in the line of duty.

Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Some-Gave-All-criminal-officers/dp/B0CJ45MZK4/ref=monarch_sidesheet

By Mike Simmons

A Hero
The feeling was somber…sad.
A wave of officers adorned in their formal dress uniforms,
Two officers standing as guards of honor,
a long wooden box, draped by an American flag,
They stood like sentinels, faces of granite,
A closer look, however, showed slight tears,
Because, you see, they were laying to rest a comrade,
Their badges were banded in black,
The minister read, “Greater love hath no man than this,
that he lay down his life for his friend,”
Words of comfort, but they cannot bring him back,
The hero was taken to the waiting hearse,
Slowly the procession left the church, bound for the cemetery,
It was his final ride,
Soon they arrived at the peaceful place,
Officers lined the graveside,
‘Attention.’ Amazing Grace played by bagpipes,
“Prepare for gunfire,” They came – the volleys of fire,
The song of finality – TAPS,
Then the final call on the police radio – no answer
He is out of service,
Rest in peace, Sir. We have the watch.

-Anonymous

Wall of Tribute Roll Call

1. Pensacola Police Officer John Gordon – September 22, 1889
2. Bluff Spring Town Marshal Daniel Douglas – May 22, 1893
3. Pensacola Police Officer John Yelverton – June 3, 1899
4. Pensacola Police Officer William Burnham March 18, 1906
5. Pensacola Police Captain William Etheridge December 26, 1908
6. Pensacola Police Officer R. J. Carter, April 4, 1909
7. Okaloosa County Sheriff John Summerlin – January 21, 1921
8. Escambia County Sheriff Cary Ellis – September 25, 1923
9. Walton County Deputy Thomas Blount – August 17, 1929
10. Pensacola Police Officer C. F. Bazzell – March 16, 1932
11. Pensacola Police Sergeant William Shackleford – February 27, 1933
12. Pensacola Police Officer Clinton Green – February 26, 1938
13. Walton County Sheriff Daniel Adkinson – April 7, 1938
14. Corrections Officer Franklin Hendrix – April 7, 1938
15. Pensacola Police Detective William Bowman – August 19, 1938
16. Pensacola Police Officer Herbert Hatcher – January 15, 1939
17. Pensacola Police Officer Andrew Schmitz – May 7, 1940
18. Escambia County Constable Mallory Williams – May 4, 1941
19. Walton County Sheriff Robert Gatlin – November 12, 1942
20. Pensacola Police Officer Edward Pursell – August 12, 1944
21. Pensacola Police Officer William “Bobo” Connors – September 16, 1944
22. Pensacola Police Officer Louis Champa – May 27, 1951
23. Escambia Deputy Riley Simmons – February 22, 1953
24. Escambia Deputy Joseph Whitworth – April 22, 1954
25. Escambia Constable William Rigby – September 4, 1955
26. Escambia County Deputy Roland Davis – September 24, 1955
27. Escambia County Deputy Len Adams – June 16, 1958
28. Santa Rosa Sheriff Bart Broxson – December 24, 1959
29. Deputy Sheriff Joseph Gassman – January 30, 1966
30. Pensacola Police Detective James Jeffcoat – March 22, 1968
31. Florida Parole Officer William Gambill – July 11, 1973
32. Escambia Deputy Charles Wilkerson – January 19, 1974
33. Crestview Police Sergeant Buster Adams – March 26, 1974
34. Escambia County Deputy Buddy Ray – April 7, 1978
35. Escambia Deputy Sheriff Doug Heist, Sr. – May 3, 1980
36. Pensacola Police Officer Curtis Neal Jones – June 27, 1980
37. Pensacola Police Officer Amos Cross – September 12, 1980
38. Pensacola Police Officer Stephen Taylor – October 19, 1982
39. Escambia County Corporal Eric Streeter – March 13, 1984
40. Okaloosa Airports Officer Kenneth Baldwin – Sept. 11, 1987
41. Wildlife Officer Ray Lynn Barnes – November 21, 1987
42. Escambia Deputy Sheriff Donald Cook – December 3, 1988
43. Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Milan Hendrix – June 1, 1989
44. Escambia Detention Sergeant Dennis Mathis – July 27, 1989
45. State Attorney Investigator Steven Bolyard – June 18, 1990
46. Pensacola Police Officer Glenn Austraw – February 26, 1997
47. Escambia Sheriff’s Sergeant Roosevelt Walker – May 22, 1998
48. Escambia Sheriff’s Lieutenant George Hura, Jr. – May 4, 2004
49. Okaloosa County Deputy Anthony E. Forgione – July 22, 2008
50. Okaloosa County Deputy Burt Lopez – April 25, 2009
51. Okaloosa County Deputy Skip York – April 25, 2009
52. Okaloosa County Deputy William Myers – September 22, 2015
53. Escambia Corrections Officer Joe Heddy, Jr. – June 17, 2017
54. Santa Rosa Detention Deputy Charles Pugh – August 18, 2020
55. Santa Rosa Sergeant Ray Dykes III – December 9, 2020
56. Okaloosa County Corrections Officer Jason Goen – January 1, 2021
57. Florida DOC Corrections Officer Willie Caldwell – June 19, 2021
58. Florida DOC Corrections Officer Andrew Kauffman – August 9, 2021
59. Okaloosa County Deputy Michael Neau – September 5, 2021
60. Florida DOC Corrections Officer Kelly Klimkowski – September 28, 2021
61. Okaloosa County Corporal Ray Hamilton – December 24, 2022
62. Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K9 Wolf – February 20, 1998
63. Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K9 Erny – October 12, 2000
64. Florida Department of Corrections K9 Freckles – May 10, 2017
65. Niceville Police Department K9 Blue – August 7, 2022