Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) -- Hundreds of police officers from around the Four Corners area stood at attention in respect for their fallen officer, friend and brother, Sgt. 1st Class James Thode.
The Farmington (N.M.) Police Department sergeant, serving with a National Guard unit based out of Blanding, Utah, was killed in action Dec. 2 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. He was laid to rest Wednesday in the northwestern New Mexico city.
Utah National Guard Assistant Adjutant General Jefferson Burton said during a memorial service that some men are born with boots on their feet. Burton says Thode "was meant to wear the uniform."
Nearly 1,000 people filled a church auditorium where Thode's casket, draped with the American flag, sat on stage.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
