Payton Malloy's Letter

The following article and letter were posted today by Rickey Stokes. I add them here because I do not want to lose them to "link rot." 

All of the events described here happened within an hour of my home. It is a tragedy of the highest order. However, faith makes an appearance and that makes all the difference. I think you will see what I mean.

Payton Malloy's Letter About Her Dad, Col. Greg Malloy

Rickey Stokes

Viewed: 1933

Posted by: RStokes
Date: Mar 18 2011 1:32 PM

The following letter was written by Payton Malloy. Payton is the 12 year old daughter of Col.Greg and Mrs. Donna Malloy.

Payton's dad, Col. Greg Malloy, was the Holmes County Correctional Officer that was using K-9 bloodhounds to track a murder suspect. The suspect ambushed Col. Malloy as they closed in. During the ambush and exchange of gunfire, Col. Malloy was killed in the line of duty.

The last of the 4 pictures is one of Payton with the K-9 bloodhound her daddy was handling while tracking the murder suspect.

Please continue to remember the Malloy family as they deal with life in the days ahead. Thanks to Payton, her mom and the other family for Col. Malloy's devotion to perserving life and property and the pursuit of justice.

Col. Malloy was protecting the community. This murder suspect had already killed his parents, shot at someone who approached him, and would have surely killed others that came into his path.

Payton's Letter:

My Dad

“POW    POW    BOOM!” “I’ve been hit and its bad”, these were the last words my Dad said before he died. My dad was shot while he was tracking a dangerous  man who was hiding in the woods from the law for murdering his parents. My dad was a good man and he was also a brave man. But most of all, he was an AWESOME dad. I will always remember him. I did not realize what an impact my dad had on people until we had the funeral. I now know my dad was a hero and he was loved by a lot of people.

I want to tell you a little about the viewing and funeral. There was about 3,000 people that came to the viewing and funeral. We had to stand for 6 hours the night of the viewing as people came through to honor my dad and to share their stories of how he had touched their lives. My feet were hurting so bad I couldn’t even feel them. So I finally yanked those shoes off and SON did I have a huge relief after that.

            The next thing I would like to tell you was while at the funeral I got to meet the Governor and the Attorney General. They invited me to come and visit the Governor’s mansion and the Capitol Building. The Attorney General also gave me a $25,000 check for my college fund. They were super nice. Just imagine getting to meet the governor it was AWESOME but scary because you are shaking and you don’t know what to say.

            On the day of the funeral as we drove up to the high school all we could see was lines and lines of soldiers and officers, there must have been 1,000 there. There were a ton and I am not kidding. It was so cool getting to see and meet them. They showed so much respect for my dad. I felt truly honored.

            My dad was in charge of the K-9 unit at Holmes Correctional. They have some of the prettiest dogs and they are huge. I know all this because I got to meet and see the dog that was with my dad when he got shot. I also got to have my picture taken with him too. His name was Ruff. Ruff is a very special dog now because he escorted my dad’s casket to the cemetery at his funeral.

            At the graveside there were Scottish people there playing bag pipes. My dad would have freaked! He would have been like “I bet them jokers are cold with those skirts on!” Another cool thing at the funeral  was the 21 gun salute, the last call, and the helicopters flying over head. All of this was done in my dad’s honor.

            On Wednesday, February 2, 2011, my whole life changed. My dad, Colonel Greg Malloy, gave up his life to protect others from a dangerous man. A lot of people think of my dad as a hero. To me he was more than that, he was my Daddy and will always be. He will be greatly missed! I LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!