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DEDICATING THE HILLSBOROUGH, NEW HAMPSHIRE
POST OFFICE IN HONOR OF OFFICER JEREMY TODD CHARRON
Born on March 18, 1973, Officer Charron was the third of five children to Bob and Fran Charron. Originally from Pittsfield, New Hampshire, Jeremy and his family moved to Hillsborough in 1977. Throughout his early life, Jeremy grew intensely goal orientated, a trait that persisted throughout his shortened life, and by the time he had reached second grade he knew his calling was to one day serve as a United States Marine. Although he was an outstanding athlete in many sports, he excelled at playing defense on the soccer field. The same tenacity that Jeremy used on the soccer field, he carried with him off the field. One poignant example of Jeremy’s developing leadership occurred as a friend lost his hair from cancer treatments and was teased by fellow classmates. While it may have been easier for most students to ignore the taunting of other classmates, Jeremy actively defended his friend. Throughout Jeremy’s life, he stood up for what he thought was right and protected those who could not defend themselves. During Jeremy’s high school years at Hillsborough-Deering High School, he grew into a leader, quickly becoming active in all aspects of the school community. His peers voted him “Most Spirited” and elected him class president. At the same time, he had convinced eight classmates to join the Marines with him following graduation. Together, they would dedicate their weekends to training for their future service in the Marine Corps. After graduating high school in 1992, Jeremy entered the Marine Corps and proudly served his country for four years. As his enlistment term drew to a close, he had a new aspiration, which was to become a New Hampshire State Trooper, and looked forward to starting a family. To achieve this objective, Jeremy enrolled at the New Hampshire Technical College in Concord to study Criminal Justice, and was hired by the Epsom, New Hampshire Police Department as a part-time and then full-time police officer. Sadly, Jeremy’s dream was cut short. On August 24, 1997, the morning after he attended the funerals of New Hampshire State Troopers Leslie Lord and Scott Phillips, Officer Charron was responding to a report of a suspicious car, which contained two men. Tragically, while Officer Charron questioned one of the men, the individual pulled out a gun and opened fire. Although Jeremy was wearing a bullet-proof vest, one of the bullets struck him in an unprotected area. Despite his fatal wounds, Jeremy heroically returned fire until he collapsed, forcing his two killers to abandon their car and steal a near-by truck that could be identified by police, eventually leading to their capture. Had Jeremy’s dreams not been cut short at the age of 24, he would have achieved his goals of becoming a State Trooper and having a family of his own. Jeremy’s murderers stripped our nation, the State of New Hampshire and the community of a true patriot, citizen, and role model, as well as a loving friend and family member. Ten years have gone by since Jeremy’s passing and
a new generation of seven nieces and nephews know Jeremy’s stories.
People of Hillsborough, New Hampshire still have stories to share
and lessons to learn from their very own American hero. As the
years move forward, the citizens and future generations of Hillsborough
will always remember Jeremy and share anecdotes about his life
when they visit the Officer Jeremy Todd Charron Post Office Building.
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