Hundreds attended an emotional graveside ceremony at the Salem Cemetery in Freestone County to honor fallen Trooper Damon Allen.
The amount of support from family, friends and law enforcement from Texas and out of state was visible even before the service started. It took almost an hour for all the vehicles to make it into the small cemetery near Teague.
For those who knew Allen, including former Mexia High School classmate Kristi Beard, losing a member of Class of 1995, was devastating for them. She said members of her class, some of them, some who lived in other areas of Texas, and a few from out-of-state did not hesitate to travel to Central Texas to honor their friend.
"I know he is looking down on us today with the smile he had. I just want him to know that we will always love him. He will always be in our hearts and he is never going to be forgotten," Beard said.
He will also never be forgotten by his brothers and sisters in blue, including Georgetown Police Officer Sarah Lewis. She said it was important for members of her agency to honor the 41-year-old.
"As law enforcement, we do a very good job at representing our own in our funerals and that's something that we continue to do as the years pass," said Lewis.
She admits, it was hard to fight back tears during the service.
"Just emotion and pride, for being in this profession and representing our agency and also emotion for the family and hearing the grief and the stride they go through," Lewis said.
The grief became intense for some during the ceremony, requiring paramedics to treat three people.
It was a difficult and indescribable day for those who came to honor a man whose life ended too early.
Beard describes him as caring and a family man.
"Damon was a really good guy. We are going to miss him greatly," Beard said. "We will always have him in our heart and I hope he rests in peace," Beard said.
She said members of her class, which she described as a close-knit family, plan to support Allen's family for the rest of their lives.
Copyright 2017 KXXV. All rights reserved.
