Fallen Oklahoma County Deputy Gets Headstone 88 Years After Death In Line Of Duty

He was killed in the line of duty and was buried in an unmarked grave. But on Friday, his mark in history resurfaced.

Deputies with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office and Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. attended a ceremony at Rose Hill Burial Park in Oklahoma City. During the ceremony, a headstone was installed at the unmarked grave of Constable Joseph Wood, who died while responding to a fight 88 years ago.

SSgt. Bradley Wynn, the historian at the Sheriff's Office, said several years ago, he began laying wreaths on the graves of fallen officers as part of a program with Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. It was through that program that he learned there were dozens of law enforcement officers in unmarked graves in Oklahoma.

Among those officers was Constable Wood, who died in the line of duty on July 14, 1935, after he was shot by an escaped convict.

Wynn said through research, he learned that Wood was among four Oklahoma County constables who responded to a fight at the Fairgrounds Night Club on Northeast 10th Street in Oklahoma City. While they were trying to arrest one of the men involved, the suspect grabbed a constable's gun and shot Wood, killing him. The suspect was a convict who had previously escaped from a prison in Missouri.

"(Wood) clearly saw a firearm was in a direction that could have caused harm to people and he put himself in that direction," said Wynn.

Wood was about to start a two-week vacation when he was killed, said Wynn. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter. Wynn said he was unable to locate relatives who are alive today.

It was unclear why Wood's grave at Rose Hill Burial Park was unmarked. But after a process that lasted about two years, Wynn and Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. were able to arrange to get a headstone installed at Wood's resting place on Friday.

"We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us," said Wynn. "To know that these gentlemen gave their lives for that job and they weren't really noticed much then, it's important for me to recognize them now."

Dennis Lippe, chairman of Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc., said there have been about 850 officers who were killed in the line of duty in Oklahoma history. He said 43 of those officers were buried in unmarked graves.

"Joseph Wood here is the third one we've done," said Lippe. "The other two were Chickasha officers. We did them about - it was May last year."

Lippe said he wants the remaining 40 unmarked graves to get their headstones as well.