A highlight of our 25th Anniversary Banquet was a moving ceremony, complete with honor guard of ECOs. We presented a plaque to Colonel Walter Heinrich of the DEC honoring the ECOs who have fallen in the line of duty.

Those honored included

Samuel S. Taylor:
April 5, 1914. Oneida County. fatally shot while attempting to apprehend illegal duck hunters along the Mohawk River.

John H. Woodruff:
November 19, 1914. Schenectady County. Murdered while on patrol. His remains were discovered buried in a creek bed on April 4, 1921. The case was never resolved.

Harvey B. Cruikshank:
June 8, 1926. Washington County. Fatally struck by lightning while on patrol.

William T. Cramer:
September 29, 1929. Queens County. Fatally shot while attempting to apprehend illegal bird hunters near Jamaica Bay.

Paul DuCuennois:
October 16, 1932. Warren County. Drowned while patrolling by canoe on Jabes Pond, Town of Hague. At 21 years old, DuCuennois was probably the youngest member of the Bureau at the time, and a strong swimmer. Two witness were not implicated, but suspicion over the incident continues to this day.

Clarence J. Webster:
November 16, 1944. Washington County. Died in an auto accident while on patrol at age 64

Benning W. Delamater:
June 24, 1961. Albany County. Drowned while on patrol in the Hudson River near the Federal dam in Troy when his boat capsized.

William Becker:
March 11, 1981, Suffolk County. Drowned while on duty in the marine district.