Gone but not forgotten

A memorial plaque ceremony was held on Thursday for Officer James J. Ramp, who was shot to death during a violent showdown between police and members of MOVE in 1978.

I meant to post this earlier, but got tied up with a run of press conferences. This is an excerpt from our story in today's Daily News:

James J. Ramp felt it deep in his bones, the need to serve his country and fellow man.

He followed his calling first to the Marines and the Korean War, where he fought with the fabled "Chosin Few" — the band of Marines who battled thousands of Chinese soldiers at the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.

He came home, joined the Philadelphia Police Department and raised his family.

Ramp was 52 years old and about a year away from turning out the light on a remarkable career when he was fatally shot on Aug. 8, 1978, during a chaotic showdown between police and members of the radical group MOVE.

The father of four was cut down when he tried to come to the aid of a fellow cop while MOVE members unleashed a torrent of bullets from the basement of their compound on 33rd Street near Powelton Avenue. Four other cops and four firefighters were shot and seriously wounded.

Ramp's relatives and former comrades gathered yesterday outside FOP headquarters, on Spring Garden Street near 13th, to recall his sacrifice and dedicate a plaque in his memory.

Few could forget the terror that filled the Powelton Village section of the city on the day Ramp was killed. "Even now, it seems like it was just 45 minutes ago," said Michael G. Lutz, a retired police captain who worked with Ramp for several years in the old Stakeout Unit.

Read the rest here.