"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Montgomery County (MD) Police Officer William P. "Mickey" Conboy Jr.

Two undercover police officers were preparing to make a drug bust. Their targets were two college students home for Christmas. The operation ended with one cop dead and another seriously wounded.

William P. “Mickey” Conboy Jr.

McLean, VA (February 3, 2026) - William Patrick “Mickey” Conboy Jr., was a United States Marine Corps veteran. He was also a young Montgomery County, Maryland, police officer whose life, promise, and courage were cut short during an undercover drug operation in Silver Spring more than 50 years ago. On December 29, 1973, Mickey and his supervisor, Sergeant James Elkins, arrived at a hotel posing as drug buyers and carrying a lot of “flash money.” Their targets were two college students home on Christmas break. But the two men weren’t planning to sell drugs at all; they intended to rob the officers, with a bag of flour and sugar posing as cocaine. The moment the hotel room door closed behind Mickey and Sgt. Elkins, gunfire erupted. Mickey was killed and Sgt. Elkins was seriously injured but survived. One of the assailants was killed by responding officers. The other was sentenced to life in prison, but he served only about seven years. Mickey was 25 years old when he died. He left behind an adoring wife, JoAnne, and a two-year-old daughter, Michelle. “I wish I had known him before he died,” Michelle said years later. She learned about her father through the memories of others. “He was a good man and . . . a hero.”

Listen to the podcast to learn the rest of the story: https://open.substack.com/pub/behindbadge/p/heroes-live-forever-the-story-of-c91