Hundreds of police officers attend the memorial
BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
MATEWAN, W.Va. — Services took place for a true hero Wednesday. Many tears fell and the “Thin Blue Line” was fortified in Mingo County as the community said the final goodbye to West Virginia State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard.
Maynard, 37, was killed in an ambush-style shooting June 2 at Beech Creek while responding to a shots-fired call. Hundreds of police officers from several states traveled to Mingo Central High School to pay their last respects at Maynard’s funeral. Many police departments and agencies from around the Mountain State came to show tribute to the fallen trooper.
Police cruisers from as far away from states like New Jersey, Florida, and Missouri and bordering states like Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia joined in the procession. Officers from cities and towns like Charleston, Huntington and Nitro sent representatives to the memorial and participated in the procession for Sgt. Maynard.
WVSP Major Jim Mitchell led the memorial service at the school. He is the Chief of Staff at the home office in South Charleston.
“Sgt. Cory Maynard wasn’t just an excellent trooper, but a great human being,” Mitchell told the large crowd.
Gov. Jim Justice and Col. Jack Chambers, who heads up the WVSP, also spoke at the memorial service.
The route went from the high school on the King Coal Highway, down U.S. 52 through Delbarton, through downtown Williamson, north on U.S. 119 and ended at a funeral home at Chapmanville. That is where the family had a private service before Maynard’s cremation.
Hundreds of people lined the highways along the procession, waving flags and saluting the procession as it made its way through the county. Many citizens paid tribute and lined the streets of downtown Williamson and along U.S. 52 and 119 as hundreds of police cruisers drove past honoring Sgt. Maynard.
The Williamson and Belfry Fire Department’s ladder tower trucks held a huge U.S. flag on US-119 for the funeral procession of Sgt. Maynard.
Sgt. Maynard served 15 years with the West Virginia State Police. He grew up in nearby Turkey Creek, Kentucky, and attended Belfry High School. He was in charge of the Williamson detachment of the WVSP since being transferred back to near the communities he grew up in.
Maynard was also a tissue donor and continued to give even after his tragic death.
Among the many family members that Maynard leaves behind are his wife Rachel and two children, ages 9 and 13.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help his family.