Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Wallace Melson suffered a fatal heart attack during a vehicle pursuit. He had chased the suspect into the neighboring town of Millville and was able to get the car stopped. When he stepped out of his patrol car and made contact with the suspect, he collapsed. The suspect then fled the scene and was never identified or apprehended.
There were several firemen who witnessed Officer Melson's heart attack. They started CPR but Officer Melson had died almost immediately.
Officer Melson, a WWII veteran who served in the Army Air Corps, had served with the Ocean View Police Department for 4 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-DE-234EF5BF- 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.
Officer Melson gave the Ocean View Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Ocean View community. 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
Wallace A. Melson served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Officer Wallace A. Melson is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DE, 4 of 51 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 7.8% of this state's fallen. That is 3.8 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Wallace A. Melson's cause is highlighted.
How Wallace A. Melson Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Wallace A. Melson is highlighted in Aug.