Three troopers remembered on anniversary of OHP's darkest day

CADDO, Okla. (KTEN) — Three memorial stones in Caddo honor three Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers who died 45 years ago Friday.

Troopers James Pat Grimes, Houston "Pappy" Summers and Billy Young were part of the manhunt that was seeking two escapees. When they reached a neighborhood in Caddo, two of the troopers lost their lives in an exchange of gunfire.

The third helped stop the fugitives a few miles away, losing his life in the process.

"There was 115 that had their life on the line that same day, willing to do the same thing Pat and Billy and 'Pappy' did," said Mike Grimes, James' brother.

"As they turned down this street to try to intercept these two escapees, Pat said, 'We gotta watch out for the kids, because school is out.' And that was his concern that day... wasn't for his life, it was for the kids' lives," Mike Grimes recalled.

Bob Young said his dad, Trooper Billy Young, and the others were up against ruthless adversaries. 

"Just to kill people... that's not the way we're supposed to live our lives. And they were just doing it so they could keep on the run, and they had to be stopped," Young said.

Both of the late troopers' sons said they counted the deaths they saw throughout the years.

"I spent 33 years on the patrol. During that 33 years, I saw us lose 18 troopers," mike Grimes said. "I think people don't realize what the troopers face each and every contact, each and every manhunt they go on."

For the families, the loss of their fathers, brothers and husbands is something they'll never forget.

"They say 'Time heals all wounds,' but scars run deep, and it's still hard," Bob Young said.