Angie Bluethman
05/12/1996
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The only police officer who brought about 500 people to their feet Saturday night wasn't at the awards banquet to receive his medal of valor.
But his spirit was.
Sgt. Terrance Yeakey, 30, committed suicide just three days before he would have walked across the stage at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame as a man who showed exceptional bravery and courage for his rescue efforts in the Oklahoma City bombing.
When his name was read Saturday night as one of the 89 selected to receive the Oklahoma City Police Department's medal of valor, the crowd responded with a standing ovation. Earlier Saturday, Yeakey's family was presented with the medal.
Councilman Mark Schwartz read a letter to the department from President Clinton.
Clinton said in the letter that Oklahoma City police officers set the standard for perseverance during the aftermath of the bombing.
"You continue to put your lives on the line, day in and day out," he said.
George Wesley Jr., the 13-year-old boy who moved Oklahomans to tears with his powerful singing during the memorial service for the bombing's first anniversary, performed "America" and "Wind Beneath My Wings. " Country music singers Reba McIntyre, Vince Gill and "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and actor Chuck Norris congratulated the department in a video.
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