Trooper First Class Raymond B. Wilhelm, 31 years of Wilmington, Delaware lost his life on Memorial Day, May 30th, 1951, as he made a deeply humanitarian but vain attempt to swerve his patrol vehicle away from a mongrel dog which was in the roadway. His patrol vehicle overturned after he swerved to avoid the animal.

A graduate of the University of Delaware and a four year veteran, Trooper Wilhelm died shortly after the accident on U.S. Route 40 near Glasgow, Delaware. Following his accident, Trooper Wilhelm was rushed to Delaware Hospital where ironically his sister, Margaret E. Hughes, a nurse, was attending to another trooper who had been injured in an accident eleven days earlier.

He enlisted in the state police on May 12, 1947. Trooper Wilhelm was stationed at Troop 5 (Bridgeville) for one year and then transferred to Troop 2 (State Road). He had served in the U.S. Army in World War II and achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the artillery.

His troop commander, Captain Winfield Cochran, described Raymond Wilhelm as "one of the finest troopers on the force, a man of outstanding qualities and a splendid brother officer."

( Bio by: Russ Pickett )

Trooper First Class Raymond B. Wilhelm, 31 years of Wilmington, Delaware lost his life on Memorial Day, May 30th, 1951, as he made a deeply humanitarian but vain attempt to swerve his patrol vehicle away from a mongrel dog which was in the roadway. His patrol vehicle overturned after he swerved to avoid the animal.

A graduate of the University of Delaware and a four year veteran, Trooper Wilhelm died shortly after the accident on U.S. Route 40 near Glasgow, Delaware. Following his accident, Trooper Wilhelm was rushed to Delaware Hospital where ironically his sister, Margaret E. Hughes, a nurse, was attending to another trooper who had been injured in an accident eleven days earlier.

He enlisted in the state police on May 12, 1947. Trooper Wilhelm was stationed at Troop 5 (Bridgeville) for one year and then transferred to Troop 2 (State Road). He had served in the U.S. Army in World War II and achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the artillery.

His troop commander, Captain Winfield Cochran, described Raymond Wilhelm as "one of the finest troopers on the force, a man of outstanding qualities and a splendid brother officer."

( Bio by: Russ Pickett )