A simple marble marker in Riverside Cemetery notes 29-year-old William Frederick Black Jr. died Dec. 20, 1940, but says nothing about his heroic death.
As one of Georgia’s first state troopers, Black was patrolling Ga. Hwy. 41 near Ringgold when he was fatally shot by an escaped convict from Missouri during a traffic stop.
Friday, on the 84th anniversary of his death, the newly formed Georgia Public Safety Foundation will honor Black’s sacrifice by unveiling a memorial plaque at his gravesite.
GSP sergeants first class Hamilton Halford and Billy Schwab visited Black’s grave Monday to plan logistics for the ceremony.
A lone 1937 Ford Tudor, the state’s patrol car prototype, will be parked near the tombstone during the event as Amazing Grace resounds from bagpipes.
The commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, Col. William W. Hitchens, will offer remarks before the unveiling of the new marker that shares some of Black’s story.
But he was a hometown hero long before three bullets cut his life short.
As the captain and center of the Lanier Poets football team, he led them to the State Championship in 1931.
He studied aeronautical engineering and played football and basketball at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now known as Auburn University.
Black served in the U.S. Army Reserves and was one of the first to sign up for Georgia’s new Trooper School, as evident by his badge No. 8.
Schwab said he feels privileged to be able to pay tribute to the patrol’s fallen colleague.
“I think it’s a tremendous honor and it shows the rich tradition our department has,” Schwab said. “You can’t really put words to it.”
Although the grave gave no hint of Black’s history, Georgia has paid tribute to his ultimate sacrifice in other ways.
The Department of Public Safety erected a statue of Black outside its headquarters, and a stretch of Interstate 16 at Ga. 87 in Macon was named in his honor in 2013.
The Macon man was one of 80 graduates from that inaugural trooper class at Georgia Tech in 1937, and became the first to die in the line of duty.
Cpl. Black was posthumously promoted to sergeant the next day. His body lay in state at the Capitol with an honor guard of troopers and soldiers.
Most who knew Black have passed away, including members of his immediate family.
“Troopers say he still has family, they just wear blue shirts,” Schwab said.
Friday’s ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in the Woodbine section of Riverside Cemetery.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
