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Slain Ranger To Receive Memorial At Hot Springs National Park

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By NPT Staff - May 20th, 2016
James Alexander Cary

James Alexander Cary was the first Park Service ranger killed in the line of duty/NPS

On March 12, 1927, ranger James Alexander Cary was killed by bootleggers while patrolling on West Mountain in Hot Springs National Park. No one was ever convicted of his murder.

Now, 89 years later, the park will unveil a monument to honor Cary, the first National Park Service ranger killed in the line of duty, during a ceremony at 1 p.m. May 30 at the corner of Central Avenue and Reserve Street in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The unveiling will take place after the annual Memorial Day Service at the Garland County Veterans Memorial and Military Park at 11 a.m.

“Ranger Cary, like many rangers today, served our nation in many capacities, first in the U.S. Navy during World War I and later in law enforcement in the National Park Service. In keeping with his life of service and sacrifice, we felt that Memorial Day would be a fitting time to pay tribute to his legacy,” Superintendent Josie Fernandez said in a release.

“We are pleased and honored that some of ranger Cary’s descendants will be coming from as far away as California for this dedication, and we invite the general public, military veterans, and law enforcement officers in particular to join us for this commemoration,” Fernandez added.

The Cary memorial consists of a bronze plaque and the iconic park ranger campaign hat mounted on a large novaculite boulder.

Cary was born in Missouri on Dec. 19, 1895, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War I on board the USS Orient. In October 1923, Cary received his appointment as a law enforcement ranger at Hot Springs National Park, where he served until his death.

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