Eternally Grateful

Whether he was dispensing advice to his children, soldiers, or police officers, Joseph S. Boyd Tuesday was eternally a U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor looking out for those around him.

Boyd, 54, the Santa Ana Police range master responsible for weapons training, killed himself last week in an apparent freak accident. He was examining an illegal gun at the Police Department firing range when it discharged, striking him in the neck.

His memorial service Tuesday at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station chapel recalled his days as a Marine as a role he never left.

“I can always see the drill instructor in him,” longtime friend Len Hayes said during a moving eulogy. Boyd’s job at the Santa Ana Police Department was a civilian version of the same military role. “He was . . . preparing his police officers for the war on the streets,” Hayes later added.

As range master and a weapons expert, Boyd had a hand in training every sworn officer in the Police Department. His sudden death last Wednesday cast an instant pall.

Tuesday, that sadness was again evident as officers and others wept openly at the memorial service that offered a mix of military and police traditions.

Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters said Boyd was killed in the line of duty. In recognition of that sacrifice, the firing range where Boyd died will be named in his honor, officials said.

Approximately 100 Santa Ana Police officers, whose uniforms turned the memorial into a sea of navy blue, wore black mourning bands over their badges.

Marines and Santa Ana police officers Tuesday stood in the rain and formed two rows, saluting Boyd’s friends and family as they filed into the chapel for the hourlong service that ended with a 21-gun salute and Taps.

Boyd’s two grown children, Cynthia Journeay and Keith Boyd, read poems to honor their father, and remembered him as a fighter.

“I know my dad is not going gently into that good night,” Journeay told the approximately 600 people gathered. “He didn’t do too much gently, except love his family.”

Keith Boyd remembered his father as teacher, warrior and friend who always gave good advice. He stressed that his father had lived a full life.

“This is no sad closing to a life half-lived,” Keith Boyd said. “This is a tribute to a great man.”

Boyd’s wife of 34 years, Marion, did not speak at the service, but received a city flag from the police chief, who said: “Thanks for sharing him with us.”

Santa Ana police officers remembered Boyd as a teacher, and a stickler for details.

Police Lt. Collie Provence said that he once visited Camp Pendleton with Boyd, and the former Marine turned beet red because a sergeant was carrying his saber the wrong way.

Last year, the city honored Boyd for providing exceptional training to police officers, who appreciated Boyd’s methods mimicking real-life scenarios.

“Because of the training they received, they were able to survive a deadly encounter and go home to their families at night,” said Provence, who was Boyd’s friend and supervisor. “There is no greater tribute.”

At the request of the Police Department, the Orange County district attorney is investigating Boyd’s shooting. But police believe his death was an accident that occurred while he was examining an illegal weapon believed to be linked to a crime.