Roll of Honor
Incident
Corrections Employee Ora Ambrose and Corrections Employee William Spears were killed in an automobile crash near the Indiana Boys' School in Plainfield.
Corrections Employee Ambrose, Corrections Employee Spears, and others had been searching for three boys who escaped from the institution earlier in the afternoon. When the search was called off at dusk, another individual gave up his seat in the vehicle Corrections Employee Ambrose was driving to permit Corrections Employee Spears to return to the institution with him.
As they approached a railroad crossing about one-half mile west of Plainfield at 6:00 p.m., their vehicle was struck by an eastbound train, killing both of them instantly. Corrections Employee Ambrose was thrown down an embankment 400 feet from the crossing, while Corrections Employee Spears became lodged on the engine pilot.
Corrections Employee Ambrose was survived by his wife and sister.
Survivors
Corrections Employee Ambrose was survived by his wife and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-C711D49D- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Corrections Employee Ambrose served with the Indiana Department of Correction.
Thank you for your service to the Indianapolis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corrections Employee Ambrose.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Corrections Employee Ora D. Ambrose 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 IN, 151 of 503 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Indiana Department of Correction, 2 of 12 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ora D. Ambrose's cause is highlighted.
How Ora D. Ambrose Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ora D. Ambrose is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
11 officers from Indiana Department of Correction are honored on badge.nw.
