Deputy Sheriff Troy M. Babin
"Greater Love Have No Man Than This...That He Lay Down His Life For His Friends"
John 15:13
Troy came to the Osceola County Sheriffs Office from Louisiana. He left everything behind except his accent. When he got on a roll, you would swear that he was litterally speaking a foreign language. You would have to slow him down so that you could understand him and he would make sense. But he took it all in stride.
Troy also made it a point to be the one person you could depend on for anything. You name it, he would do it. And we always tried to repay him for the favors. He even would take the patrol zones most guys didn't like. He always told us that we just did not know the right places to go to have fun. That boy could have had fun cleaning a horse barn!!
I remember one time our shift Sgt. came to a bunch of us and asked who we wanted to have for a Senior Deputy, who's job it was to run the Squad in the Sgts. absence. Troy was picked without opposition. Troy actually declined the offer because a few guys were senior to him and he didn't want to feel like he was taking anything away from someone. That's just how he was.
I was sleeping the morning of November 12, 1994 when Troy had his accident. I had worked a midnight shift and had only been home a few hours. My wife woke me up and told me that there was something on the news about a plane crash involving an Osceola Deputy. Without even turning on the t.v. in the bedroom, I knew it was Troy. I just had that feeling. It seems that Troy had been out patroling the South end of the County aiding our Ranch and Grove Deputies in a search for poachers. He was attempting to land on a man made landing strip on a ranch when the accident occurred. He thought that he had struck a pickup truck that was along the side of the runway and was pulling up when he hit a telephone wire strung between two telephone poles. The plane crashed into the ground and Troy died instantly. Nothing could have been done to help him.
The night before Troys funeral was the sloppiest in history. We had over 3 inches of rain fall and everything turned to mud. There did not appear to be an end in site. Then, just before we started to line up for the procession to the church, the clouds cleared up and the sun came out. Troy always wanted the best for everyone else and, even in death, was thinking of his friends. He didn't want us standing in the rain getting wet for his sake. The procession was the longest in the Counties history. Friends and fellow Officers from his home town even made the trek for Troy. He was the kind of guy you would do that for because you knew he would do the same for you.
I have lost a lot of friends in this job. None can compare to the friend I lost that November day. I will never have a friend like that again because friends like Troy are one of a kind. I sorely miss him, as does his family. God Speed My Brother. I miss You.
Troy's name appears on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. His is on the second row from the bottom, second name from the end.
An etching of his name from the Memorial Wall.