PIKESVILLE, Md. (AP) — The Maryland State Police honored the 43 troopers who have died in the line of duty since the department’s founding in a remembrance ceremony in Pikesville.

The ceremony took place at the state police headquarters, where family members of fallen troopers gathered Friday morning to lay roses beside a monument that stands in the courtyard. Two troopers killed in World War II were also honored.

Superintendent Col. Marcus Brown called the annual event the most important day on the State Police calendar. Brown said it is troopers’ duty, obligation and honor thank fallen heroes.

The most recent trooper killed was State Trooper First Class Shaft Hunter, who died in a car wreck in 2011.

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