Roll of Honor

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Officer

Preston Daniel Hale

Dallas Police Department — Dallas, TX

Veteran → Accident

End of Watch February 12, 1947

Age 39

Tour of Duty 13 yrs 8 mo

Badge 231

The Vigil Panel 83 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 94

Incident

Officer Preston Hale was killed in an aircraft accident while returning from a search for an abduction suspect. As he approached the airport the plane he was piloting crashed for unknown reasons his aircraft crashed just west of Cockrell Hill, Texas, south of Jefferson Boulevard Officer Hale was a United States Army Air Force veteran of WWII and had served with the Dallas Police Department for over 13 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, three sons, one daughter, parents, five sisters, and one brother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-TX-385B8D28
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Preston. Claim this record.

Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Air Force. One record, 2 gates. Preston is one person.

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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.
Officer Hale gave the Dallas Police Department 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Dallas community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Dallas Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Dallas, TX

Platform Identity dpd.dallas.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 12, 1947

Tour of Duty 13 yrs 8 mo

Age 39

Badge Number 231

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Preston Daniel Hale served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Officer Preston Daniel Hale is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In TX, 657 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.1% of this state's fallen. That is 27.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Dallas Police Department, 30 of 95 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.6% of this agency's fallen.

Dallas Police Department

of 95 officers

31.6% Accident

TX — Statewide

657

of 2,421 officers

27.1% Accident

Nationwide

of 97,759 officers

0% Accident