By Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
To the average driver, the new sign along Interstate 29 near Missouri Valley is just a sign, this bridge just another bridge.
But to others, it embodies a man, a father, a brother.
"He really epitomized what we would think is a father and a community man," said Larry, Officer Adams' son.
"He was just a hard worker, good-natured, loved to have fun, but he was just tough, said Tom, Officer Adams' brother.
Officer Philip J. Adams had a 15-year long law enforcement career in Missouri Valley.
He was working as a traffic weight officer when he was hit by a car and killed in 1973.
"My mom and I were having lunch and we heard the sirens for the rescue. It went out of town, and then it came back, very slowly," said Larry Adams.
"Probably one of the saddest days of my life," said Tom Adams.
"I remember pinching myself a lot, thinking that it was a dream," said Jim Adams, Officer Adams' son.
Now almost 4 decades later, his memory can be see by passerby and family alike, as the Interstate bridge over Highway 30 in Missouri Valley becomes the Officer Philip J. Adams Memorial Bridge.
The Adams family doesn't need a bridge to remember their father, he's been with them their whole lives.
"We all carry things inside of us about him. That will forever be my biggest tribute to my Dad," said Officer Adams daughter Connie Hornbeck.
The family sees the much deserved memorial as an honor fit for the man they lost too soon.
