"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers James "Pat" Grimes, Houston "Pappy" Summers and Billy G. Young

It's become known as the "Darkest Day" in Oklahoma Highway Patrol history. While hunting down two escaped prison convicts who were on a murderous reign of terror, three state troopers lost their lives

(l to r) James “Pat” Grimes, Billy G. Young and Houston “Pappy” Summers

McLean, VA (March 17, 2026) - On May 26, 1978, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol suffered the loss of three courageous state troopers. It’s become known as the “Darkest Day” in Oklahoma Highway Patrol History. They were killed in the line of duty during a desperate, statewide manhunt for two escaped Oklahoma State Prison convicts. The officers’ names were Lieutenant James “Pat” Grimes, 36, Trooper Houston “Pappy” Summers, 62, and Trooper Billy G. Young, 50. The manhunt had been underway for more than a month. The escapees had already left a trail of violence across six states. They were wanted for five murders since their escape, and they had wounded three others. Troopers Summers and Young were ambushed by the two convicts and killed in the gunfight. Later that day, Lt. Grimes and his partner, Lt. Hoyt Hughes were searching for the fugitives when they also came under gunfire. Lt. Grimes was killed and Lt. Hughes was wounded but managed to return fire and kill one of the fugitives. Moments later, another trooper, Lt. Mike Williams, arrived on the scene and killed the second escapee—ending a 34-day reign of terror that had taken eight lives—including the three troopers killed that day. Lt. Grimes left behind a five-year-old daughter, Traci Lyn, who was told that her father would never come home again.

Listen to the podcast to hear the rest of the story: https://open.substack.com/pub/behindbadge/p/heroes-live-forever-the-story-of-d51