Overdue recognition: Four fallen OFD firefighters' names being added to memorial in Frankfort

Sep. 25—In Frankfort, there's a memorial with the names of every known Kentucky firefighter who died in the line of duty.

But the memorial, unbeknownst to anyone, was missing the names of four Owensboro firefighters who died in service between 1927 and 1954.

Next month, their names will be added to the memorial, and the Owensboro Fire Department is looking for family members of the men to invite them to the ceremony.

A memorial service will be held at the memorial at 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 5.

Lt. Andrew Behl, who is gathering the department's history, said the hope is that family members can be found who will be able to tell officials about the four firefighters' lives.

"You don't want these guys to be lost to history, to die and nobody knows," Behl said.

John Thornberry, who served for 11 years, died from injuries he suffered in a March 22, 1927, fire. Thornberry was fighting a fire at the Moreland-Withers tobacco warehouse on East 11th Street when he suffered severe burns.

Thornberry was the first fatality in OFD history, Behl said.

In 1928, Captain T. Churchill "Church" Guthrie died after suffering a stroke while on duty. Guthrie had served on the fire department since 1910 and had a adult daughter living in Ohio at the time of his death.

Peter Cooper, who served on OFD for almost 13 years, died on duty in 1933 of a heart attack while he was at Fire Station 3. In 1954, Captain James "Urey" Westerfield died from injuries he suffered fighting a fire at Green River Steel.

More is known about Thornberry and Guthrie because their deaths were covered by the Messenger-Inquirer. Details about Cooper and Westerfield have been difficult to find, Behl said.

"I couldn't find anything" regarding Cooper," Behl said.

Behl was able to find Westerfield's obituary, "but it didn't mention anything about dying in the line of duty," he said.

Behl said he has done research with the help of the Kentucky Room at the Daviess County Public Library. Department officials would like to find members of the men's families so they can attend the October 5 event.

"It's nice to get somebody honored who has been forgotten," Behl said. "We are trying to pay homage to those who came before us."

Anyone related to the men, or who has information about them, can call OFD Station 1 at 270-687-8408.

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse