Robert Emmet Nagle
Agency patch
Trooper

Robert Emmet Nagle

New Jersey State Police — West Trenton, NJ
End of Watch November 26, 2018
Age 67
Tour of Duty 34 yrs
Badge 5493
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper Robert Nagle died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

Trooper Nagle was a New Jersey Air National Guard veteran. He had served with the New Jersey State Police and the former New Jersey Marine Police for a total of 34 years.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Trooper Robert Emmet Nagle was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 50 years old that fall.

He died on November 26, 2018 - 17 years and 2 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 67.

He is one of 600 officers honored here, and one of 10 at New Jersey State Police.

The most recent of these deaths was October 24, 2025.

Officers who worked the search, rescue, and recovery at the World Trade Center site breathed contaminated air for weeks and months afterward. Many developed cancers and respiratory disease, and they have gone on dying of it ever since.

Seventy-two officers were killed on the morning itself. Hundreds more have died in the years that followed. They are honored here together, because the same attack killed them all. With some it simply took longer.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, sister, and brother.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
September 26, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at requiem.nw, salute.nw. One record, 3 gates. Robert is one person.

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Tributes

You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Trooper Nagle gave the New Jersey State Police 34 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Nagle.

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

Agency

Type State Police
Location West Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njsp.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 26, 2018
Tour of Duty 34 yrs
Age 67
Badge Number 5493
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet

Military Service

Robert Emmet Nagle served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

The Sacrifice · Illness

Robert is one of 2,028 officers lost to illness in the United States, 7.4% 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
  2. See the roll
Compare against
I

Time

In 2018, 56 officers in the United States were lost to illness, the 6th heaviest of 108 years on record. The heaviest was 2021, with 564.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Robert was 67. Of the 1,996 lost to illness in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 42 and 58; the middle age was 51. Robert had served 34 years; the middle length of service was 20 years.

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

When

November holds 7.8% of these deaths in the United States; October holds the most, 14.9%. Mondays: 14.2%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Illness deaths account for 7.4% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the 3rd most common cause. The weapon recorded was aircraft; passenger jet, in 29.5% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

New Jersey State Police has 84 officers remembered here, Robert among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Trooper Robert Emmet Nagle

New Jersey State Police · End of Watch November 26, 2018

Military Service

Robert Emmet Nagle served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.

Visit Robert Emmet Nagle’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 34-E

Also Remembered

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial — requiem.nw →

salute.nw →

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