Roll of Honor
Henry McCoy Townes, Jr.
Incident
Corporal Henry Townes was killed in a vehicle crash at the intersection of Second Street and Byrd Street in Richmond, Virginia.
He had taken the van to get mechanical work done on it and was returning it to the Virginia State Penitentiary at about 11:55 am when it was struck by another car that ran a red light just outside of the penitentiary walls. Corporal Townes was ejected from the vehicle and suffered severe head injuries. He was transported to the Medical College of Virginia Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Corporal Townes was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and had served with the Virginia Department of Corrections for eight years.
Survivors
He was survived by his two daughters, parents, and brother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-C83D4668- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Corporal Townes gave the Virginia Department of Corrections 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Virginia. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Henry McCoy Townes, Jr. served in the Other before joining law enforcement.
Corporal Henry McCoy Townes, Jr. is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In VA, 203 of 654 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31% of this state's fallen.
At Virginia Department of Corrections, 5 of 16 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Henry McCoy Townes, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Henry McCoy Townes, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Henry McCoy Townes, Jr. is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
15 officers from Virginia Department of Corrections are honored on badge.nw.
