 October, 27, 1946 there was a birthday planned for a boy in the 6th year of his life when the phone rang that evening calling Ptl. Daniel Beebe Laird back to work for the graveyard shift, October 28, someone called in sick. After working hard that week for his town of West Orange, N.J. Ptl. Dan Laird was somewhat disappointed that he would not have the next two days off to celebrate his first son Daniel's birthday.
It was a small rented house living with his wife and two sons, Daniel soon to be 6 and John age 2 1/2. Also disappointed were Dan's recently widowed mother Alice and elder sister Alice. When he left for work that evening he would walk in uniform the two miles as usual and reported for patrol duty. Our family did not own a car in spite of a salary of $24 a week, which was considered good pay in those days right after the end of World War II.
Senior officers always drove the patrol cars, but this night was different, it was foggy, raining and fall leaves coming down and the senior partner declined to drive.
At approximately 2 A.M., October 28, 1946, after picking up a manager of a restaurant and heading for a night deposit of evening receipts, a radio call, be on the lookout for robbers from a neighboring town. Dan said to his partner that he sure would like to catch those robbers. As the officers patrol car was heading East on Northfield Ave.,and not far from the other town's border, a car came speeding at them through the fog near the intersection of Konig Place. Dan swereved the patrol car to miss it and spun on the wet leaves and struck a utility pole on the driver's door. Dan was killed instantly, the "Knock on the Door" came later that morning. His partner remained in a coma for over two weeks and survived his injuries and returned to duty and related this story.
Laird's partner lived 27 years to the very day of that accident and passed away in retirement of natural causes. The restaurantor survived unijured. Dan's daughter was born 2 weeks later, they called her Beebe. His son Daniel, married and had children and grandchildren had many bumps in the road of life, loosing his youngest son tragically in an auto accident. He lived until his 56th year and died of what I will always believe, of a broken heart. Officer Laird's daughter "Beebe" still survives , happily married with children and grandchildren. I carried on the tradition to become a New Jersey State Trooper, retiring with the rank of Detective Sergeant 1st Class, a loving wife 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Dan's widow, Elizabeth (Lillian), my mother, remained unmarried till her recent death at 88 years of age. The memory of him will never be forgoten in our family, he was a good man, good husband, good father and a good policeman. He missed so very much of of life!
..Seven year veteran, Daniel Beebe Laird was 31 years old.
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