Raymond C. Willis
Sergeant

Raymond C. Willis

Veteran → Accident
End of Watch April 15, 1957
Age 33
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Raymond Willis and Sergeant Vernon Corbell were killed in an airplane accident while searching for a downed plane near Malibu.

The plane Sergeant Corbell was piloting experienced engine trouble, and he attempted to land at an emergency landing strip in Puerco Canyon. During the landing, the plane struck a ridge and burst into flames, crashing only 500 feet from the landing strip.

Sergeant Willis was a United States Navy World War II veteran and had served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for nine years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Willis gave the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Los Angeles community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Other
Location Monterey Park, Los Angeles County, CA
Platform Identity lacso.losangeles.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 15, 1957
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
Age 33
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Raymond C. Willis served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

The Sacrifice · Accident

Raymond is one of 8,276 officers lost to accidents in the United States, 30% of the 27,552 remembered there.

34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1957, 55 officers in the United States were lost to accidents, the 85th heaviest of 174 years on record. The heaviest was 1929, with 118.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Raymond was 33. Of the 7,718 lost to accidents in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 29 and 46; the middle age was 36. Raymond had served 9 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

April holds 7% of these deaths in the United States; August holds the most, 9.4%. Mondays: 13.4%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Accident deaths account for 30% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the 2nd most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has at least 120 officers remembered here, Raymond among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Sergeant Raymond C. Willis

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department · End of Watch April 15, 1957

Military Service

Raymond C. Willis served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.

Visit Raymond C. Willis’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 31-W

Also Remembered

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