Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

In Honor of your Sacrifice and for your family and friends, I salute you as a HERO!

"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 whose 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

Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1993 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell (Retired)
Richland County Sheriff's Dept.
Columbia, SC

September 28, 2021

Hero never forgotten. Prayers to family blood and blue.

BLR
Retired Texas dispatcher

September 28, 2021

Rest in Peace Trooper Eric T. Gunderson! Thank you for your 15 years of service with the Washington State Patrol in Washington. We are all thankful to you for your service, your devotion and your sacrifices, and also to you family and friends for their sacrifices. Our hearts break for your wife and your two sons during this tragedy, and we want them to know that you will never be forgotten! Our thoughts and Prayers go out to the rest of your family and to all of your sisters and brothers in Blue that protect us. God bless you all!! (Matthew5:9)

Kelly & Eddie King

September 28, 2021

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
Matthew 5:9

Chris Di Gerolamo
Federal Air Marshal Service

September 28, 2021

Rest in peace Trooper Gunderson.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 28, 2021

A police officer should be remembered not by how he died but how he lived! A great man has gone to secure a safe path for the rest of us to follow. Thank you to you, your family and the Washington State Patrol. Our country is a little less safe without you. Rest in Peace Brother!

Chief (Ret) Steven Marshall
Georges Mills, NH

September 28, 2021