On a January day in 1960, Virginia State Trooper Henry Noel Harmon was on duty in Pittsylvania County. After arresting a man for drunk driving, he was transporting the suspect to the jail in Chatham. As they traveled along Route 761, just south of Long Island, the man he had taken into custody revealed a concealed. 22 caliber handgun and shot the trooper.
The single gunshot wound inflicted devastating and permanent injuries. Though Trooper Harmon survived the initial shooting, he was left paralyzed from the neck down. He would live with the consequences of that violent encounter for many years. The man who shot him was subsequently convicted of malicious shooting and received a 20-year prison sentence for his crime.
For over three decades, Henry Noel Harmon endured his paralysis. He had served with the Virginia State Police for more than seven years before the shooting. The wound he sustained on that winter day in 1960 ultimately led to his death, years after the initial violent act. In recognition of his service and sacrifice, the Route 57 Bridge east of Chatham was later renamed the Trooper Henry Noel Harmon Memorial Bridge.
