The Shelton police department held a special Veterans Day service Thursday to honor fallen officer Sgt. Orville Smith, a Vietnam veteran.
The department presented Smith’s wife, Nancy, with items from the American Police Hall of Fame.
Smith has been named an American Police Hall of Fame Medal of Honor and Law Enforcement Purple Heart recipient as a result of his on-duty death.
Smith died in early July, after being struck by an alleged drunk driver while he directed traffic after a fireworks event.
The driver, Bruce Knapik, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle for the accident.
“May this tribute today serve as a reminder that Sgt. Smith will never be forgotten,” Chief of Police Joel Hurliman said during the ceremony, which took place outside the police department.
Members of the American Legion Post 16 Honor Guard presented the flags and played Taps on the bugle at the service.
“I don’t even have words,” Nancy Smith said after the event. “Smitty absolutely loved his country… He would have absolutely loved this.”
Smith’s granddaughter, Ashley Carpp, helped Nancy Smith receive the plaques from the American Police Hall of Fame.
“That was his life, the police department, and the Marines,” Nancy Smith said.
Smith was a 39-year-veteran of the Shelton Police Department and was assigned as a patrol supervisor on the day shift.
Smith was also a United States Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War.
Smith has also served as a volunteer firefighter with the Shelton Fire Department White Hills Co. No. 5.
