Trooper Sam Henderson

By Jeff Shultz

Publisher

To commemorate the 75^th anniversary of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), troopers, state dignitaries and the general public will gather at the Maysville Cemetery this Friday at 10 a.m. to dedicate a monument in honor of the first OHP Trooper killed in the line of duty.

Maysville native Sam Henderson had been an OHP Trooper for four years when he was killed on May 7, 1941, during a routine traffic stop.

Henderson had stopped a vehicle near Lawton for defective headlights and was speaking to the driver of the vehicle when another car, driven by a drunk driver, struck Henderson and fled the scene.

Henderson was killed instantly due to injuries he sustained in the accident.

Henderson’s funeral service was “the most impressive funeral service (in Maysville) witnessed since the burial of Wiley Post,” according to published reports on Henderson’s death and research by the Maysville History Class.

According to organizers of Friday’s dedication ceremony, a large contingency of OHP Troopers and top brass are expected to be at the ceremony, including the Chief of the OHP, Colonel Kerry Pettingill.

Gov. Mary Fallin has also been invited to the ceremony.

Along with the monument dedication, the Washita Bridge north of Maysville will be renamed in honor of Henderson.

The public is also invited to attend this both special ceremonies.