Six generations walking the New Orleans beat and an oh-so-little stint in that D-Day hullabalo
Sgt. Major Manuel Curry passed away last week at the age of 84, after serving more than six decades in a city he loved. Officials say he was likely the longest-serving active-duty law enforcement officer in the nation.“A true statesman lies before us today, right there,” said NOPD Maj. Robert Bardy, who spoke during Curry’s funeral mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
NOPD Chief Warren Riley said that Curry wasn’t just a “figurehead.”
“Up until his passing, he was still very, very active. Very alert,” Riley said. “He still drove a police car, he still went to scenes.”
Before joining the NOPD in 1946, Curry served his country in WWII, and saved countless lives as a medic during the D-Day invasion of the beaches of Normandy.
During Hurricane Katrina, the then 80-year-old Curry stayed at his post at the Sixth District.
While his wife was arranging his funeral their home was burgled. The police arrested the burglars. Here’s the story: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/burgled.html