Troopers from the Indianan State Police Bloomington District recently honored Trooper Robert C. Gillespie on Saturday for the 62nd Anniversary of his Line of Duty Death with a Memorial Walk along SR37 north of Mitchell.
On June 8, 1962, Trooper Gillespie was killed in a traffic crash on SR37, north of Mitchell in Lawrence County, while responding to a call for assistance. Trooper Gillespie was forced off the roadway when a pickup truck in front of him slowed. He avoided the pickup truck and swerved back onto the roadway to avoid another vehicle in his path. A third vehicle struck Trooper Gillespie’s patrol vehicle.
Trooper Gillespie had served with the Indiana State Police for nearly 12 years and was assigned to the Seymour Post. He was a US Navy veteran, and a recipient of the Indiana State Police’s Gold Star for Valor in 1959 when, despite suffering from gunshot wounds, he continued to pursue a couple who had fired at him.
Troopers walked along the northbound and southbound sides of SR37 at the Trooper Robert Gillespie Memorial Mile to honor him.
