103 years later, fallen South Bend police officer's grave gets honored with a marker

Greg Swiercz, South Bend Tribune
·5 min read

SOUTH BEND — More than a century has passed since South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland was killed in the line of duty on the streets of the city.

But when the department's chaplain tried to visit the graves of all 15 South Bend fallen police officers, the department discovered one couldn't be found for Buhland.

On the 103rd anniversary of his death, Buhland was honored Wednesday with his grave marker, thanks to Highland Cemetery, Hanley & Sons Funeral Home and a wealth of research by South Bend Police Patrolman and Chaplain James Burns.

While the grave marker dedication ceremony in Highland Cemetery at his gravesite had police and a handful of others in attendance, living relatives were only just recently located.

South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski said that when the police department found out through the chaplain's research about the fallen officer's unmarked grave, they took action.

"Even though family and friends are no longer around, he still has family and friends on this department," Ruszkowski said. "Regardless if we knew him or not, which none of us did, he's still one of us."

A new officer's death in 1921

Late in 1920, times were tough in South Bend because there was a business downturn going on, according to Burns and his research into Buhland's time on the police force.

After living on Portage Avenue and working at the Studebaker plants, Buhland, 37, took a job with the police department, being sworn in on Dec. 22, 1920, by the Board of Public Safety. According to a news account of his death in The Tribune, he was one of 10 new officers added to the force "at the time of the recent crime wave emergency."

South Bend Police Patrolman Daniel Turner salutes and holds a photograph Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the grave marker dedication service for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.
South Bend Police Patrolman Daniel Turner salutes and holds a photograph Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the grave marker dedication service for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.

News accounts said Buhland and his partner, Patrolman Martin Buczkowski, were patrolling Dunn Street, a spot near where the South Bend Housing Authority is located near Scott Street, about 9 p.m. Jan. 10, 1921, when they heard gunshots.

The two officers had come across two men that were suspected of being drunk carrying guns, and they took them to a call box at Scott and Dunn streets to await a wagon to take the men to jail.

Although the men's two guns were taken away from them, news accounts said one of the men began to struggle and got away a few steps before pulling out another gun and firing three shots back toward the police officers, striking Buhland in the leg and the right lung.

Accounts from the day said Buhland died at Epworth Hospital — Memorial Hospital, today — about 30 minutes after the incident. He left behind a widow and a daughter, according to Tribune archives.

Also according to Tribune archives, his killer was never identified or arrested.

South Bend Police Patrolman and Chaplain James Burns uncovers a grave marker Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the grave marker dedication service for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.
South Bend Police Patrolman and Chaplain James Burns uncovers a grave marker Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the grave marker dedication service for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.

"On Friday, Jan. 14, 1921, Patrolman Buhland was buried here," Burns said as he stood a couple steps from the grave site at the ceremony. "For reasons unknown to me and everyone else, he was buried in an unmarked grave."

"Patrolman Buhland, who was only an officer for 20 days, nearly three weeks, will no longer be in an unmarked grave," Burns said to the group. "With the generosity of Hanley & Sons Funeral Home and Highland Cemetery, he will have a marker so that he is never forgotten and will always be remembered as the hero he is to our community."

Researching the fallen

Burns outlined the research he says has been going on for about two years. He said Buhland's grave was the only one that was unaccounted for regarding the 15 South Bend police officers that have been killed in the line of duty.

"I figured as a chaplain and an officer, I owed it to our fallen to know where they were buried," Burns said.

Once he determined that he was unable to find Buhland's grave, he said, he was hurt. "There was a part of us missing because one of our fallen was essentially forgotten. … How did anyone let him lie in an unmarked grave in this manner for so long?"

A dedication service Jan. 10, 2024, unveiled a new grave marker for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.
A dedication service Jan. 10, 2024, unveiled a new grave marker for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.

Burns used the accurate cemetery records and other means to determine that not only is Buhland buried at Highland, Buhland's widow, Pearl, is buried next to him. She died in 1963, and Burns believes she likely remarried because her surname at the time of her burial was not Buhland.

Burns said that just two days before the grave marker ceremony, he learned of some grand nephews and grand nieces of Buhland, and he hopes to make contact with them soon. There were family members located in northern Michigan, Illinois and Kentucky.

He also said there are plans to have the Buhland descendants come to the South Bend Police Department's annual fallen officers memorial service in May in South Bend.

The South Bend Police Department Honor Guard takes part Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the grave marker dedication service for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.
The South Bend Police Department Honor Guard takes part Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the grave marker dedication service for South Bend Police Officer Fred E. Buhland, who died in the line of duty 103 years ago — on Jan. 10, 1921 — and had been buried in an unmarked grave in Highland Cemetery.

With business being depressed at the time in South Bend, Burns can only surmise that the family may not have had the money for a grave marker in 1921. Although it was not known what the cost at that time would have been, Burns said the donations made to make the Buhland grave marker a reality involves about $7,000, and he again thanked those who made it possible to correct the loss of what happened to Buhland.

"Now, as of today, that inaccuracy of time has been fixed, and our fallen brother will forever have a marker," Burns said.

Fallen officers

Fifteen South Bend Police officers have died in the line of duty. They are:

■ Officer Oscar W. Christensen: Tuesday, May 11, 1897; Gunfire (Inadvertent)

■ Patrolman Lewis Keller: Friday, Feb. 25, 1898; Gunfire

■ Patrolman Samuel Cooper: Thursday, Nov. 1, 1900: Gunfire

■ Patrolman Hans B. Brandt: Sunday, June 18, 1916; Gunfire

■ Patrolman Fred E. Buhland: Monday, Jan. 10, 1921; Gunfire

■ Patrolman Neil McIntyre: Tuesday, Dec. 25, 1923; Motorcycle crash

■ Patrolman Lloyd L. Thompson: Saturday, Feb. 27, 1932; Vehicle pursuit

■ Patrolman Delbert Thompson: Saturday, May 27, 1933; Gunfire

■ Patrolman Charles E. Farkas, Sr.: Saturday, May 27, 1933; Gunfire

■ Patrolman Howard C. Wagner: Saturday, June 30, 1934; Gunfire

■ Patrolman Ronald S. St. Germain, Sr.: Saturday, Aug. 19, 1967; Motorcycle crash

■ Corporal Thomas J. DeRue, Sr.: Thursday, Nov. 14, 1974; Gunfire

■ Corporal Paul Richard Deguch: Sunday, Aug. 24, 1997; Gunfire

■ Corporal Scott Lee Severns: Sunday, April 23, 2006; Gunfire

■ Corporal Nick Samuel Polizzotto: Tuesday, April 24, 2007; Gunfire

Source: Officer Down Memorial Page; odmp.org

Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@sbtinfo.com

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Grave marker placed for fallen South Bend police officer