Two decades to the day he lost his life in the line of duty, family and members of the Putnam County community took to the steps of the Putnam County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon to remember the life and service of the late Captain James Baugh. 

Baugh was killed in a single vehicle accident while responding to a minor-property damage accident on Jan. 2, 2004. Baugh lost control of his vehicle, struck an embankment and overturned into Big Walnut Creek. He was trapped in his vehicle for over 15 minutes and died at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis hours after his arrival there. 

Pastor Mark Miller, of Staunton First Christian Church, recalled one of the first times he met Baugh.  

You can hear the service here:

"I was fortunate to come to Greencastle in 1982 and I remember it was a New Year's Eve celebration at the church and Jim and Lauralee walked in about midnight and it was the end of the term. He was so looking forward to being a normal police officer, serving and not having all the jumps you had to go through," Baugh said. 

Miller also recalled the day Baugh lost his life. 

"What a tribute, what a joy. I don't know if I will forget 20 years ago. My wife and I were headed out of town to meet some friends for dinner and saw all the stuff that was happening up on Waterworks Hill and made a detour. My phone rang and I realized what had happened and it was a hard night. We were at Methodist Hospital and got together in that room. What a night of love and celebration of his life and what he meant to so many," Miller told those in attendance. 

Putnam County Commissioner David Berry recounted that he could never remember a time anyone spoke ill of Baugh. 

"Most of you knew Jim a lot better than I did, but he was one of the few people I've ever known that I never heard a bad word about. Everywhere he went, he touched somebody and he helped me a long time ago. Today's dedication is a long time coming. We got the monument made and I am glad everyone is here. We will never forget him, but tonight we can think about him a little extra," Berry said.

A monument honoring and remembering Baugh's service to Putnam County was erected last year on the grounds of the Putnam County Courthouse and standing a few feet away from it, Baugh's son, current Putnam County Sheriff Jarrod Baugh, remembered his father, who served as Sheriff from 1975 to 1982 and had also served as a member of the Greencastle Police Department and served in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. 

"When a law enforcement officer dies in the line of duty, the family, department and community learn of the incident each in their own way. The family will ask why him, why now and may spend the rest of their lives searching for answers never to be found. The department will ask why, could it have been prevented and how do we keep it from happening in the future. The community mourns and supports both the family and the department. Then the quiet comes. This is probably the part that hurts the most. Then out of nowhere someone reminds you they were a hero, how they lived and not how they died. So many times you would hear, "Did I ever tell you about the time your dad did..." Most of you can fill in a story or three there. This is a special occasion, and, we, as a familiar are forever grateful to the county commissioners for their dedication in remembering our fallen hero, Captain Jim Baugh," Sheriff Baugh said. 

Baugh said his father helped bring about a positive view on how citizens view police in Putnam County. 

"It sets a precedent for how our community treats its law enforcement, which is above and beyond some of the others. We watch in some of these towns where there is strife and malcontent and discord against their law enforcement. Putnam County is a good place to be, and it is a good place to be a law enforcement officer and I hope the young ones coming up realize that. I'm sure they will and will continue to serve the community like Jim Baugh did," he said. 

Sheriff Baugh said it is his hope his father's time in Putnam County will never be forgotten, pointing to the fact the memorial will stand forever. 

"We were talking to someone about how nice the memorial is, in that it's granite and it's not just a wooden memorial, a flower that's going to die or a tree that's going to grow old and fall over dead. It is what it is and I don't think monuments like that don't go up the year after a war or you lose a deputy like that. Twenty years later people realize, knock on wood, we haven't had to do it again and we praise God every day for that. The biggest thing is when the time goes past and you realize the measure of the man and what he meant to the community. They told us what they were going to do. That permanent remembrance of the man himself and the service he gave to the community, it's a big deal for us and our family. We know we will be gone someday, but that will still be there," he said. 

Baugh said the spot of the memorial means something special to the family, as it is near the door his father used to enter the courthouse when he would check on dispatchers.  

"We always had to stop by dispatch and go in and talk and find out what they were doing on vacation. The fact that they are here today shows how tight knit we are through all the ups and downs, the bad calls and the good calls, it's a group that is a family that remembers, watches out for each other. Being there by that door that he went in and out of hundreds of times. That's where he passed hundreds of times," Baugh said.