An urgent note was taped to my computer on the morning of Feb. 27, 1983, that read: “MUST COVER! TROOPER MURDERED!”

Trooper George L. Hanna had been shot dead the night before while conducting a routine motor vehicle stop in Auburn. He left behind a wife and three children. His three killers — out to rob businesses — were sentenced to life without parole.

The news hit Hanna’s Holliston neighborhood hard. The young dad had set up a mock Fenway Park Green Monster wall in his backyard where kids could be heard shrieking with joy as they played whiffle ball. One neighbor said he had yet to summon up the courage to tell his child the trooper next door was gone.

Our heroes aren’t supposed to die. Trooper Hanna was one of them and 177 others have stepped up since adding to the Hanna Award Medal honor roll.

“Their stories,” said Gov. Maura Healey Tuesday, “remind us of the immense bravery required in this (first-responder) profession and the sacrifices officers and their families make to keep our communities safe.”

This year’s heroes

The 11 recipients of the award this year include:

Acushnet Officer Kevin Martins, despite being wounded, helped subdue a crazed gunman outside the Bayside Lounge in Fairhaven in December of 2023.

Berlin Officer Molly Plante ran into the “raining fire” of a house explosion to rescue someone trapped in the rubble in April of 2023. She is now a Framingham police officer.

Oxford Officer Kenneth Mead Jr. confronted a sword-wielding suspect, shooting then saving the man.

Trooper Ryan Costello raced into a raging river to grab a 2-year-old after a drunken-driving rollover in Clarksburg in April of 2023. The dad was arrested; the child in a “blue onesie” later died.

Trooper William Munch confronted a suspect waving a knife who yelled: “Just kill me!” The man kept on coming with the trooper attempting to de-escalate ultimately shooting him down with no other injuries to family members in Hancock in September of 2023.

Trooper Christopher Nee and Lakeville Officer Dakota Jones faced a gunman who said to the officer: “Kill or be killed.” That’s when Trooper Nee shouted: “Drop the gun!” Nee was off-duty and helped quell the showdown in of September 2023. Officer Jones is now Trooper Jones.

Boston Officer Christopher Kerrigan broke up the armed robbery of a pizza delivery man and was shot himself, never giving up with the suspect arrested in June of 2023.

Massport Officer Matthew J.T. Flynn on patrol in Piers Park, East Boston, came upon a woman jumping into the Harbor. He radioed his location then jumped into the freezing water in March of 2022, saving the woman.

Trooper Thomas Cusack and Trooper Gregory Santo, members of the MGM Springfield Gaming Enforcement Unit, tracked down a suspect who threatened to shoot a fellow casino player who then turned on them, firing at “close range.” They returned fire mortally wounding the man.

State Trooper Thomas Cusack wears the Medal of Honor he received during the Trooper George Hanna award ceremony at the State House (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Gov. Maura Healey awards the Medal of Valor to Officer Molly Plante, formerly of the Berlin police department, during the Trooper George Hanna award ceremony at the State House (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)