August 8, 1944 - July 6, 1969
Killed in the line of duty at Ft. Meade

Fallen MP's Name Inscribed On Memorial
From: "SoundOFF! Online"
(http://www.ftmeade.army.mil/soundoff.html)
By Connie Ballenger, Staff writer

Though it has been 32 years since Capt. Alfred E. Campagne responded to a call of a suspected vehicle break-in in the Meade Heights housing area, the military police (MP) here have not forgotten the event.

It was the call in which the 24-year-old Campagne was fatally shot by an unknown assailant.

Every year on July 6, the anniversary of Campagne's death, the MPs lay a wreath underneath a plaque dedicating Building 8607 on 6th Armored Cavalry.

The building was named Campagne Hall in the captain's honor in 1979. Its first occupants were members of an MP battalion then assigned here.

This year the fallen comrade's name took its place before a larger audience - it was inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C. The memorial's blue-gray marble walls contain 15,000 names of federal, state and local law enforcers who were killed in the line of duty. Campagne's name is on row 22 of panel 19W.

The memorial's 13th annual candlelight vigil was held Sunday. Thousands of people from across the nation attended. At the event the 313 names that have been added to the memorial in the past year, including Campagne's, were read. One hundred fifty-two of the officers were killed in the last year.

Attorney General John D. Ashcroft was the keynote speaker.

While Ashcroft acknowledged that families cannot help but think of what "could have been" had their loss not occurred, he said they should try to remember the valuable service that law enforcement officers provide the country.

"We must celebrate their contribution by focusing on the society that has survived - a place envied by people around the word. I hope the families take comfort knowing their loved ones died doing important work - defending freedom."
 
Campagne was nominated by Military District of Washington (MDW) Provost Marshal Col. James Clifford.

"It's something that should have happened a long time ago," said Clifford.

"It's appropriate that his name be here at this memorial." 

Clifford attended the vigil along with three MPs from the MDW, Sgts. 1st Class James Barney, Thomas Miller and John Preston.

Lt. Col. Steven Eldridge, commander of the Headquarters Command Battalion, the parent organization of the MP Company here, also attended with Fort Meade MPs Sgt. 1st Class Frank Hentschel and Staff Sgts. Mark Bunch and Louis Hoffman.

Also at the event were Campagne's wife, Martha, and son, Andrew, who is 33 years old. They live in Vermont. Andrew is a municipal police officer in Castleton, Vt. He served four years in the Army and 10 in the Marine Corps.

"I tried to emulate him. He was proud of being in the military," said Andrew, who was too young when his dad died to remember him.

Campagne's father, Leslie, lives in Hague, Va. He did not attend the vigil but said he was gratified his son's name had been added to the memorial.

"I think it's a big honor he's there," he commented.

Campagne was born Aug. 8, 1944, in Lock Haven, Pa. The son of a soldier, he spent many of his early years in Athens, Greece, and Alexandria, Va.

He lettered in track and field and football at Garfield High School in Woodbridge, Va., and was a leader in the youth fellowship of Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, where he was a charter member.

Among his interests were hunting, shooting, fishing and camping.

Campagne enlisted in the Army as an MP in August 1965.

Graduating second in his Officer Candidate School class, he was commissioned in October 1966. He earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals while serving in Vietnam in 1967-68. The young officer was assigned to the 14th MP Group here in September 1968.

Congress has approved legislation authorizing the establishment of the National Law Enforcement Museum beside the memorial. It is expected to be the most comprehensive law enforcement museum and research facility in the world.

The MPs would like to see the Emergency Service Center (ESC) that is under construction named for Campagne, according to Eldridge. Located behind the current Provost Marshal Office on Mapes Road, the ESC will house a fire station, ambulances and MPs.

It is scheduled to open in July.

Return to Main Index