Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

You were that which others did not want to be. You went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do. You asked nothing from those who gave nothing and reluctantly accepted the fact of eternal loneliness should you fall. You have seen the face of terror and felt the stinging cold of fear. You have loved, cried, suffered, and hoped, but most of all, you have lived times others would say were “best forgotten.” At least you were able to say that you were proud of what you were - a cop.

Thank you, hero.

Annonymous

October 1, 2007

Sleep soldier! still in honored rest
Your truth and valor wearing;
The bravest are the tenderest; ---
The loving are the daring.

From A Song of the Camp, by Bayard Taylor (1825-1878)

Anonymous

September 10, 2007

I was a young man when I first saw the movie. It moved me to read the book. Several years later I would take the oath as a New York City Police Officer. In my twenty years of service I have listened to the bagpipes at various funerals for fallen officers and they still move me so. Inside my head I still see that piper on the hill from the movie and think of Officer Campbell. May God shine his light upon the ones he left behind, especially Officer Campbell's family and Karl Ettinger.

Det. Gregory C. Boucher
Retired NYPD

August 15, 2007

I've been a cop for 32 years. My oldest son is a cop now. My youngest plans to be. Nothing changes. We do what we are meant to do. You will never be forgotten. Hopefully our tactics and the aftermath has improved. No matter what, we'll win. We have to. We're the Good Guys.

Sgt. Greg Eisentraut
Loveland Police Department

July 25, 2007

Ian... I have had the honor to meet your family and your great grandson who is named after you. I held a memorial service for you at the cemetery in Glendale in 2003, the 40th anniversary of your death. There was a Police Piper present and he played Amazing Grace as an Honor Detail folded the American Flag in your honor. I was there and read a Scottish Poem and even wore my kilt in the nation colors of Scotland. Your flag was displayed in a glass triangle and I presented it to the Los Angeles Historical Society. It is on display at the Old Highland Park Station.

I was my Honor to have met your family and I will always remember you and Karl........ and all my heroes.

Semper Fi John E Miller LAPD Retired 4-30-07

Retired Detective
Los Angeles Police Department

May 29, 2007

Remembering you and honoring you on Memorial Day and everyday. Thank you for your distinguished service to mankind.

Rest in Peace Sir and find peace in the arms of our Lord.

Brandon Sullivan

Brandon Sullivan
Detroit P.D. Retired

May 27, 2007

To a brother in both Law Enforcement and piping, your spirit is carried on the breeze with every grace note and every drone of every bagpipe that sounds throughout this Earth. Each time I take up my pipes from this point forward and fill the bag with every breath, I will be piping in your honor, remembering those who went before you and our brothers and sisters who have passed in your footsteps. For those who remain on this Earth, I pass along the agrement: It certainly is not right for an army to go into battle without its Piper out front!

Sgt. S. Inscore
Pulaski County Sheriff's Office

April 25, 2007

To Officer Campbell,

I never met you in person, but I know you through your daughter Lori. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten, and your memory lives on in your children and grandchildren. Your daughter Lori carries your strength and love for others. Her life too is one of sacrifice, caring for cancer patients in their darkest times. I know you are proud of her, and I want your comrades and friends to know both she and Val are doing great and making their own marks on this earth. May God bless all those who serve to protect this nation.

Jennifer Graham

Jennifer Graham
friend

April 25, 2007

To Officer Ian Campbell and Officer Karl Hettinger,

On that horrible night of March 9, 1963 you were both murdered. One of you just took longer to get to Heaven. God Bless you both.

TJM
A grateful citizen

Teresa Miller
citizen

April 12, 2007

Nothing cab harm a good man, either in life, or after death.

Lieutenant Tom Bowler
West Sacramento PD

April 9, 2007

( God, give me the strength to remain civil )- Yesterday, Jimmy Lee Smith, one of the notorious "Onion Field" killers, who spent most of his life in and out of prison on repeated parole violations, has died. He was 76.

I will not gloat, I will not wish the same for Powell.

This Cowboy, will simply go to a local watering hole, and make a toast to a fellow Marine / LAPD Finest, and continue to keep his memory alive....

Maj M. B. Parlor
USMC / LAPD

April 9, 2007

One of the animals responsible for your murder has finally died, in prison not surprisingly even though he was paroled after serving a mere 19 years for your murder, but this just goes to prove that once an animal always an animal. It is unfortunate that he lived so much longer than you but you are with our Lord and in His Heavenly Kingdom. He may have lived out his worthless life longer on earth, be rest assured that he will burn eternaly in HELL!

May God continue to bless you and keep you safe in His arms.

Retired PO

April 9, 2007

One down and one to go!!! He may have gotten lucky with the trials that followed your tragedy, there is no escaping the trial and judgement of our Lord. His sentencing of the crime against will be long and harsh in Hell where he belongs. Rest in peace Officer Campbell and know that you are always remebered by those who love and care about you.

Brandon

April 9, 2007

This is the second reflection i have left for you and this is a nice night for a new reflection why... because one of the scum that took your life has moved onto a higher court.. one that will not be blind... Rest easy officer campbell.. your watxh on earth ended years ago but your memory in our hearts live on... god bless you and say hi to your partner up there for me... bless you both

robert arrington
usa citizen

April 9, 2007

I have been a police officer now for 5 years, not long but long enough to know and understand the loss a department suffers when we lose “one of our own”. I had heard of the book, The Onion Field, many times but had never sat down to read it. Then one day in a college course dealing with media and the police, my professor showed them movie to us. I, being the only police officer in class, sat in the back with my hand over my mouth and wiped away tears throughout most of the movie. Never had I felt so much tension. I knew what was going to happen however watching it was like watching fellow officers we have lost die over and over again. The movie opened my eyes for the first time in a long time and reminded me that death is out there on the streets we work everyday. May God bless those that we have lost and may they guide us during our tours of duty. Rest In Peace Officer Campbell, may God hold you in his arms.

P.O. Anna M. England 6127/350
St. Louis Metro P.D.

April 8, 2007

I remember seeing the movie, Onion Field, because it was released the year I finished high school. I saw in the news today that one of your killers has died in prison -- finally there is justice in a much larger Court than he ever faced on Earth! Thank you for your service and brave sacrifice as an officer in Los Angeles.

PSO C.W. Edwards
North Augusta (SC) Dept. of Public Safety

April 8, 2007

Well one of them finally got what they deserved long ago...

April 7, 2007, 11:51PM
Jimmy Lee Smith, Onion Field accomplice, dies at 76
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Jimmy Lee Smith, the lifelong criminal whose role in the 1963 kidnapping and killing of a police officer inspired Joseph Wambaugh's true-life crime novel The Onion Field, has died in jail at age 76, a state prisons official said.
Smith died Friday at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, where he was being held for failing to report to a parole officer, Bill Sessa, a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman, said Saturday.
Foul play was not suspected, but the cause of death was under investigation, according to the county coroner's office.
Smith was once sentenced to death for the killing of Officer Ian Campbell, and his parole drew public outrage when Smith was released in 1982 after 19 years in prison.
His crimes were documented in 1973's The Onion Field and the 1979 film of the same name, both written by Wambaugh, a former Los Angeles police officer.
Smith, who was on parole when he killed Campbell, spent the last 25 years of his life in and out of prison. He was arrested again and again on various charges, usually drug crimes.
"Great. Wonderful," former Los Angeles police Chief Daryl Gates told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday. "He should have gone to his death in the gas chamber."
Smith and Gregory Powell were convicted of abducting Campbell and his partner, Officer Karl Hettinger, from a Hollywood street on March 6, 1963, after the officers stopped their car for an illegal U-turn.
After Powell disarmed the pair by pulling a gun on Campbell and threatening to kill him, he and Smith drove them to an onion field near Bakersfield.
There, Powell shot Campbell in the face. Hettinger bolted, running four miles to the safety of a farmhouse.
Powell was arrested that night and Smith the next day.
The two originally were sentenced to death, but the sentences were reduced to life in prison with 1970s court decisions that temporarily barred the death penalty.
Powell, who remains in prison, has been denied parole several times.

Rest in peace Officer Campbell

Texas Deputy

April 8, 2007

I AM A WARRIOR
by Jon F. Hooper

I fight not for glory or fame,
For they are momentary.
I fight for those who can't.
I fight for Justice.
I fight for the oppressed and the down trodden.
And if I should lose my life for these just causes, then I have no regrets,
For I serve to protect the innocent.
It matters not where or when,
For evil knows no boundaries.
Be it fire, flood, or the threat of tyranny,
I will not flee.
Justice is my weapon.
Faith is my shield.
Hope is my armor.
Cry not at my passing,
For it was my Honor to fight for you.
Shed not tears of sorrow,
But tears of joy,
For now,
I stand with God.

Thank you for your service to the citizens of Los Angeles.

Brian

March 12, 2007

Officer Campbell

I was young when I read your story and cried as I read what happened to you and your partner Officer Hettinger. Your story is one I always share when debates about the death penalty come up. People will say what's wrong with life without parole and I always answer never a guarantee that the scum won't get out because some bleeding hearts will work on getting the sentence reduced. How a sentence can go from the death penalty to life without parole to being paroled never ceases to amaze me. It doesn't surprise me that they are back in prison. They think they are invincible and obviously have no remorse.

I have always prayed for you and your family as well as Officer Hettinger and his family. Whay a horrifying experience the two of you had to go through and yet know that as a result of what you went through, many lives have been saved as officers have learned from your story.

God Bless you and Officer Hettinger.

Ellen Guerdat
VP WNY Concerns of Police Survivors

Ellen Guerdat
VP WNY COPS

March 9, 2007

Honoring you today on your 44th yeaar EOW anniversary. God bless you and your entire family and frineds sir. You performed your job well.

~~~To those I Love and Those Who Love Me~~~

When I am gone, release me, Let me go
I have so many things to see and do.
You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears,
Be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you my love, you can only guess
How much you gave to me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
But now it's time I traveled alone.

So grieve a while if indeed you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It's only for a while that we must part
So bless the memories within your heart,

I won't be far away, for life goes on
So if you need me, call and I will come
Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near
And if you listen with your heart, you'll
Hear all of my love around you soft and clear

And when you must come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile and say,
"Welcome Home"

Grateful citizen
Michigan

March 9, 2007

"Broken Wings" by Bleed the Dream

In a dream I spent the day with you
In a carriage built by blood.
The clouds were singing songs of fear and loss;
And they cut me down to size.
And they cut me down to size.

Broken wings
Have a home tonight.
No one is listening, no one is listening.
When darkness fell on the streets last night,
We never expected, we never expected this.

In a perfect world, I'd never know your name,
And do we even know it when we die?
Or will death just pass us by?
Will death just pass us by?
Please just pass us by.

Broken wings
Have a home tonight.
No one is listening, no one is listening.
When darkness fell on the streets last night,
We never expected, we never expected this.

When all this pain is justified,
While all the time is passing by.
Now is when we clench our fists
Knowing we can fight through this.
The hours and days are gone.
The weeks and months are moving on.
Can't they see that's nothing gonna stop us now?

Broken wings
Have a home tonight.
No one is listening, no one is listening.
When darkness fell on the streets last night,
we never expected, we never expected this.

March 9, 2007

Here it is, 44 years later and your memory is as alive today as it has ever been. Always thinking of you sir and your partner, Officer Hettinger for a brave and dedicated tour of duty.

Cpl/1 Steven Rizzo
Delaware State Police

March 9, 2007

SAINT MICHAEL'S BOYS

Not long ago, the struggle between Good and Evil erupted, again, into war. The Devil threw his forces against the very Gates of Heaven, themselves. His attack beaten back, he withdrew and called for a meeting with God.

And Satan began.....

Who were those men who stood their ground,
When they were just some thousand few?
And when Gabrielle's Army is clad in gold,
Why did they all wear blue?

"They were out-numbered ten-to-one
And should have run like new-born foals,
But when they showed no fear I realized
That you'd used men who have no souls,

"And there, at last, I have you,
Through all your boasts you've lied,
So no more claims of righteousness
And behind no more Commandments hide,

"You've cheated and you've robbed me,
Those men, they are my proof,
The soul-less can't be yours in Heaven,
But mine in Hell, beneath my roof."

God listened, then replied....

"My poor, misguided child
Can't you see the error of your ways?
Those men just stood against you, now,
As they did in mortal days,

"I knew they wouldn't turn and run,
For they've seen your worst before,
And that is why I placed them there,
To keep safe and gaurd my door."

"As for those battered coats of blue,
They're worn with such fierce pride
That if I ordered them to change,
Then even I might be defied,

"Ye, you believe they have no souls,
When their souls are why they're here,
For in life each took an oath they kept
Although the price was steep, and dear,

"Even tempted by the face of death
Their hearts did cowardice decline,
You see, they never could be yours,
As they were then, and always, mine,

"And it's strange that you don't know them,
Since you've sent me every one,
Each time your murderers and theives
Killed a policeman's father's son,

"With tear-stained eyes I greet them all,
Cut too soon from their families' joys,
So send me all your soldiers of Hell...
And they'll meet Saint Michael's boys."

May God bless you always. Thank you for your service to mankind.

Robert Kastin

March 9, 2007

“FALLEN COMRADE”
-Author unknown

Taking cover….shots fired,
Then you hear that sound.
The unmistakable crackle of the radio,
Those feared words, “Officer Down.”

One more fallen comrade,
The number continues to grow.
Sorrow fills one’s heart,
Trying not to let the anger show.

Waging a daily battle,
Out there tryin to win the war.
Never knowing what you’ll encounter,
On this stop or from behind the next door.

One more fallen comrade,
Is gone and out of our sight.
Yet guiding us from up above,
Always riding on our right.

Mike S

March 9, 2007

The Dash....
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth,
and spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters most is how we live and love,
And how we spend our dash.
... Taken from: "The Dash" by Linda Ellis

Anonymous

March 9, 2007