Anthony D'Erasmo
Agency patch
Police Officer

Anthony D'Erasmo

Veteran → Illness
End of Watch August 31, 2017
Age 56
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
The Vigil Panel 167 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Tony D'Erasmo 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.

Officer D'Erasmo was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served with the New York City Police Department for 20 years and then served with the Wilmington International Airport Police Department for ten years.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Police Officer Anthony D'Erasmo was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 41 years old that fall.

He died on August 31, 2017 - 15 years and 11 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 56.

He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 450 at New York City Police Department.

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, four children, mother, brother, and sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-67688C50
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Marine Corps. One record, 2 gates. Anthony is one person.

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Tributes

You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Police Officer D'Erasmo gave the New York City Police Department 30 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer D'Erasmo.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location New York, NY
Platform Identity nypd.newyork.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 31, 2017
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
Age 56
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet

Military Service

Anthony D'Erasmo served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Police Officer Anthony D'Erasmo is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In NY, 655 of 2,147 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 30.5% of this state's fallen. That is 30.5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New York City Police Department, 538 of 1237 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 43.5% of this agency's fallen.

New York City Police Department
538
of 1,237 officers
43.5% Illness
NY — Statewide
655
of 2,147 officers
30.5% Illness
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Anthony D'Erasmo's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Anthony D'Erasmo Compares

Age at Death
56
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.7 years
Years of Service
30
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.7 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Anthony D'Erasmo is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
186
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
182
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
353
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location

Military Service

Anthony D'Erasmo served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

Visit Anthony D'Erasmo’s page on salute.nw →

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