Flags Fly at Half Staff for Fallen Officers

The task of raising the flag to half staff is the kind of job no lawenforcement officer ever wants. Wednesday in Fayetteville, it was twiceas hard and twice as sad. Flags at both the Highway Patrol office andthe county lawenforcement center show the grief the entire community feels after bothLowry and Hathcock were shot and killed yesterday on Interstate 95.

Al Lowry wanted to see where his brother took his last breath. It's allfamily members can do to try to understand.

Lowry had worked in Cumberland County for the last three years but hadserved more than 20 years with the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

Sgt. Bill Martin remembers Lowry as a good person, a senior trooper whothe younger guys naturally look up to.

Sheriff's deputies say the same about Hathcock. He had joined theCumberland County Sheriff's Office 20 years ago and, like Lowry, was adedicated officer and father.

"David was just a good, solid law enforcement officer," says Sheriff MooseButler. "No frills down to earth, but very solid. He was liked by peoplehe worked with and the people he met on a daily basis."

What happened on I-95 Tuesday can never be undone, but what's especiallysad is that in the law enforcement community, it will also never beforgotten.

"Unfortunately that's the nature of this job," Martin admits. "We'renever guaranteed to be able to go home at night."

A Fayetteville radio station, Rock 103.5, is setting up a memorial in thenames of both Hathcock and Lowry. Donations are beingaccepted at all BB&T banks across the state.

You can also drop off donations at the Rock 103 offices inside the Wachovia building in downtown Fayetteville.

A scholarship fund has been set up to benefit Trooper Lowry's family.Donations may be made to the Trooper Lloyd Lowry Memorial Scholarship Fundat the Triangle Bank, P.O. Box 20485, Greenville, NC 27858.

Funerals for both Trooper Lowry and Deputy Hathcock will be held Friday,Sept. 26, at the Cumberland County Civic Center.