By Associated Press
Frankfort, KY – A Kentucky State Police trooper killed in the line of duty nearly 40 years ago has received the Governor's Medal of Valor. Trooper Joe Ward, assigned to the Madisonville post, died in 1973 when he pushed someone out of the path of an oncoming vehicle on the Pennyrile Parkway in Christian County. The 25-year-old Williamstown native had been on the force for four years. His sister-in-law, Debbie Ward, accepted the Medal of Valor on his behalf at a ceremony in Frankfort. The agency says the award is the highest honor that a state police officer can receive for conspicuous heroism in the line of duty under circumstances of extreme personal hazard.