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HPD to honor life of Lt. Leon Byrd with dedication on Wednesday

Crystal Graham

harrisonburg policeThe Harrisonburg Police Department is inviting the community to join them in honoring the memory of a former lieutenant.

HPD will host a ceremony on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to dedicate a headstone at the grave of Lieutenant Leon S. Byrd who died in 2007. His gravesite is located on Lambert Town Road in the Briery Branch area of Rockingham County.

Gone but not forgotten, Byrd made an impact on one woman who made sure that his memory was properly honored.

The anonymous woman visited his gravesite regularly until undergrowth took over the plot of land to the point where it was unreachable.

She alerted HPD to the condition of the land at his gravesite in June 2020 to see if they could help.

Officers cleared the cemetery in 2021 and purchased a proper headstone in the summer of 2022.

The headstone will be unveiled with a brief dedication Wednesday morning. The public is invited to attend the event.

For more information, contact Lt. Charles Grubbs at (540) 437-2635.

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.