TUSCOLA - It was clear that Chief Deputy Tommy K. Martin was loved and admired by many who knew him.

About 400 people attended a ceremony Saturday morning to dedicate a black granite memorial at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, where Martin served until he was slain in the line of duty.

Speaking next to the memorial, U.S. Attorney Rodger Heaton recalled that when he first met Martin, he was greeted warmly with a big smile, which Martin always wore.

Heaton said many of Martin's friends and acquaintances told him how much they valued his company, sense of humor, kindness and willingness to help others as much as he could.

Addressing a crowd that included many police officers with whom Martin had served, Heaton said officers are known to run toward situations that could destroy their lives.

Martin, who was posthumously awarded an Illinois State Police Medal of Honor on Friday, was shot June 21 by two men who allegedly opened fire on him while driving a stolen car. Martin was able to complete a call for assistance, despite his fatal wound. He died July 17. The suspects, one of whom later held hostages in an Arcola bank, are awaiting trial.

"Tommy Martin was a real-life hero," Heaton said, adding that his kindness and leadership inspired many. "He would expect us to do what he did, to give all we have to protect others."

Martin's daughter, Laura Pitts of Paris, slowly raised a U.S. flag to half-staff on a pole behind the memorial, which contains a picture of her father wearing his trademark smile.

Douglas County Sheriff Charles McGrew gave Pitts another flag, which had been flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on the day of his death. It was sent to the sheriff's office by U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana.

Pitts told the crowd that her father was born and raised in Tuscola, near the railroad tracks. There was not much money in his family but a lot of love. Although he lived elsewhere, as he served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, with the Paris Police Department and Illinois State Police, he returned to his hometown.

"Now he has become one of the most honored citizens of Central Illinois," Pitts said.

While preparing her remarks, Pitts asked her young children how they remembered their grandfather.

They told her: He was fun, he played with us. He took us on motorcycle rides and bought us the toys Mommy said no to.

Pitts recalled that her father taught her to work hard, but also to take the time to have fun and share with others.

"Enjoy your life and smile a lot," she said he taught her.

Gary Knight, retired state police chaplain, said "T.K." left more than a memorial of cold stone.

Knight said he was thankful for "friends like Tommy, who were willing to see all in the name of goodness, in the name of right, in the name of joy and happiness."

Huey Freeman can be reached at hfreeman@herald-review.com or 421-6985.