Two radicals opened fire on Philip Lamonaco after being pulled over in Warren County.
It has been 35 years since Philip Lamonaco's final patrol. He only lived to be 32.
The New Jersey State Trooper stopped a car Dec. 21, 1981, on Interstate 80 in Warren County. In that car were two wanted radicals, members of the now-defunct United Freedom Front, a group responsible for bombings and bank robberies.
They opened fire, hitting Lamonaco nine times and fatally wounding him.
The trooper's family was home, making Christmas cookies at the time.
State police this week remembered Lamonaco on Facebook, posting a photo and a biography.
The shooting led to a series of reforms, including how troopers handle vehicle stops. And his family's story helped lead to the construction of a national law enforcement memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1991.
Below is the story The Express-Times ran in 2006 -- the 25th anniversary of his death -- when a roadside memorial to Lamonaco was dedicated.
She made them cry on Thursday afternoon.
Even the men wiped away tears when Sarah Lamonaco spoke during the dedication of a new memorial unveiled on this 25th anniversary of her father's murder.
"Right here someone took him from us, " she said. "Dec. 21 has been the hardest day of my life."
Signs once marked the spot along Interstate 80 West where a traffic stop placed trooper Phil Lamonaco face-to-face with two of the nation's most wanted domestic terrorists.
Now there is a 5-ton rock. The rock bears three granite pieces etched with the trooper's name, the New Jersey State Police triangle and the date of his death, Dec. 21, 1981.
Landscaping surrounds it and a walk leads down to the site, just north of the noisy traffic on I-80. Lamonaco once described the highway as a conduit where transients and criminals often pass through Warren County.
Sarah Lamonaco, 25, told the huge gathering her dad's oft-used phrase when things got tough.
"Nobody said it was going to be easy, " she said.
So they came and listened - the state police's top brass, the troopers, the honor guard, the civilians and the family who survived the unthinkable.
Music from the New Jersey State Police Bag Pipers of the Blue & Gold lent an air of sadness to the event as troopers lined up to pay homage.
One trooper escorted a horse with no rider as the rank and file stood at attention. Other troopers stood at attention on either side of the brick walk leading down to the memorial.
Those who attended placed flowers on top of the rock in a long procession down the walk and back up.
State Police Superintendent Joseph Fuentes spoke during the ceremony along with other notables. Warren County Freeholder John DiMaio and Knowlton Township Mayor Frank Vann Horn joined with other civic leaders who attended.
"He gave his life for our freedom, " said Monsignor Philip A. Lowery - chief of chaplains for the state police. The monsignor said Lamonaco possessed the virtues of honor, duty and fidelity.
Fuentes described the memorial as "a very hallowed spot."
He said Lamonaco's shooting "was one of the saddest moments in our history."
The slain trooper's son - trooper Michael Lamonaco - said: "I can only hope that I can fulfill the high standards set by my father and all the troopers before me."
He was 4 years old when his father was killed.
Service honors fallen N.J. law enforcement
One of the men convicted of the Lamonaco shooting died last year in a prison hospital.
Richard Charles Williams, 58, believed to be the triggerman, died Dec. 7, 2005, almost 24 years after the murder.
The investigation led to his capture and that of his accomplice, Thomas Manning, who remains in a West Virginia federal prison.
Williams was 34 when he and Manning were pulled over by Phil Lamonaco just east of the Route 94 interchange. Phil Lamonaco worked out of the former state police barracks in Blairstown Township, since relocated to nearby Hope Township. His wife was home with their three young children baking Christmas cookies when the shooting occurred.
He was shot nine times after he disarmed Manning and put the gun in his belt. The killers then fled.
A passing motorist found Phil Lamonaco face down in the snow. The trooper later died at the Pocono Medical Center. Police found the suspects' Chevrolet stuck in a snowbank on Station Road in Knowlton Township, six miles from the shooting scene. The bullet-riddled car had fingerprints from Manning and Williams. Inside were bloodstains from Williams on the passenger side door, head- and armrests.
Among the detectives who worked the case more than three years was Warren County Public Safety Director David Gallant - now a retired state police captain.
Pa. State Police honor their fallen
A nationwide investigation led to the separate arrests of both suspects and their convictions.
Gallant told the gathering Thursday the investigation put a lot of pressure on the suspects who were forced to move from one safe house to another. Both belonged to radical groups active in the 1970s.
Fuentes commended former New Jersey State Police Superintendent Clinton Pagano for his tenacity in pursuing the investigation despite political pressure to throttle down what had become a lengthy and costly pursuit.
Some accused Pagano of taking the Lamonaco shooting personally, Fuentes said.
Pagano spoke later.
He said state police will never slow down an investigation into the killing of a New Jersey State Police trooper.
"We do take it personally and we will never ever throttle back, " he said. "People such as these must understand that they will be pursued."
Donna Lamonaco - who prefers the term survivor to that of widow - also spoke during the ceremony.
"He loved this job, " she said. "He loved the fact that he was there to protect society."
She said he not only loved his job, but that he loved her and his family.
Donna Lamonaco said she misses her late husband.
"That's the hardest thing, " she said tearfully. "This rock is the rock of strength...it's the rock of courage."
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.