Roll of Honor
Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr.
Incident
Lieutenant Dale Sylvester died from complications as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Lieutenant Sylvester was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Port Wentworth Police Department in the Criminal Investigations Division for five years. After serving for 26 years, he retired from the Chatham County Police Department.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Lieutenant Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr. died on August 11, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 55.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, three children, parents, sister, and three grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-A6849C9C- 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. Navy. One record, 2 gates. Dennis is one person.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Lieutenant Sylvester gave the Port Wentworth Police Department 31 years.
Thank you for your service to the Port Wentworth community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant Sylvester.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr. served in the U.S. Navy before joining law enforcement.
Lieutenant Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr. is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,784 officers honored here.
In GA, 63 of 905 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 7% of this state's fallen. That is 7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr. Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr. is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Military Service
Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr. served in the U.S. Navy before joining law enforcement.
Visit Dennis Dale Sylvester Jr.’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Port Wentworth Police Department are honored on badge.nw.