This week's hero is...
Officer Charles Troyer
Charles Troyer was born on September 25, 1943, in Baltimore, Maryland. After serving the US Navy, he joined the Anne Arundel Country Police Department in October of 1967. For the next seven years, he worked as a policeman and protected his country. Nothing could have prepared him for the events of February 22, 1974.
That day, Officer Troyer was working at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. While he was getting himself some coffee, he heard gunshots coming from one of the boarding gates. He raced to the gate and found a fellow officer lying in a pool of blood. After calling for backup, Officer Troyer took the fallen officer's weapon and ran down the corridor where the shooter had gone. As he approached the airplane, (Delta Airlines Flight 523) the shooter opened fire on Troyer who pulled two flight attendants out of harms way. The shooter than slammed the airplane's doors shut, locked it, and took more than a dozen people hostage.
After being denied entry, Officer Troyer quickly descended to the tarmac with other officers and attempted to shoot out the aircraft's tires. However their bullets were not strong enough to penetrate the tires' thick rubber. After hearing more gunfire from inside the plane, Officer Troyer returned to the corridor and peered through one of the windows. From there, he spotted the shooter and took aim with his revolver. As soon as the shooter walked by the window, Troyer fired four shots. Two of the bullets penetrated the window and struck the suspect who immediately dropped. As other police began to pull open the door, a final shot was fired.
When they finally opened the door they saw that the shooter had committed suicide after he was shot by Officer Troyer. Lying next to him was a briefcase that contained a bomb. After the passengers and crew were evacuated, the bomb was moved to the tarmac where it harmlessly detonated without killing or injuring anyone. An investigation later revealed that the gunman was planning to assassinate President Richard Nixon by hijacking a jetliner and flying it into the White House.
For his heroism that day, Officer Charles Troyer was honored by the city of Baltimore. He went on to serve 37 years in the police department before he was forced to retire after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. He passed away on September 22, 2016, at the age of 72.
Charles Troyer is one of many police officers who put their lives on the line in order to keep us safe and secure every day. When the time came, he sprang into action and fought back against a deadly terrorist who aimed to kill many people. He is definitely someone to be held in high regard.
http://digitaledition.baltimoresun.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=1112a382-2fbb-4be1-876d-d4f4c9404959
These last couple years have not been very good for American law enforcement. I hope that when people read this article they will remember the heroism of police officers who do their jobs. It is men like Officer Troyer that make our country a safer place to live in.
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