Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Merle Godbold was killed when his marked Ford Mustang patrol car was pushed into a bunch of trees by a drunk driver on U.S. Highway 1 in Kershaw County. Trooper Godbold was en route to a trooper's call for assistance and had his lights and sirens activated. The driver left the scene but was apprehended an hour later. He pleaded guilty to felony drunk driving and was sentenced to 12 years. Trooper Godbold had served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for almost five years. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, mother, brother, and sister. On September 19th, 2009, Lance Corporal Jonathan Nash was killed in a motorcycle crash on the same highway while escorting a memorial charity ride in memory of Trooper Godbold.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, mother, brother, and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-73D2F1CC- 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.
Trooper Godbold gave the South Carolina Highway Patrol 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of South Carolina. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Godbold.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper Hardy Merl Godbold 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 SC, 137 of 438 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.3 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At South Carolina Highway Patrol, 31 of 52 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 59.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Hardy Merl Godbold's cause is highlighted.
How Hardy Merl Godbold Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced to 12 years
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Hardy Merl Godbold is highlighted in Feb.
Others Who Wore This Badge
51 officers from South Carolina Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
