Dennis J. Vickery
Agency patch
Detective

Dennis J. Vickery

Veteran → Illness
End of Watch October 13, 2016
Age 71
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
The Vigil Panel 166 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Detective Dennis Vickery 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.

Detective Vickery was a U.S. Army veteran. He had served with the NYPD for 30 years and was assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Detective Dennis J. Vickery was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 56 years old that fall.

He died on October 13, 2016 - 15 years and 1 month later - of an illness contracted there. He was 71.

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, two children, and seven grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-9EE7A093
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. Army. One record, 2 gates. Dennis is one person.

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Tributes

You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Detective Vickery 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, Detective Vickery.

— 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 October 13, 2016
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
Age 71
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail 9/11 related illness
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet

Military Service

Dennis J. Vickery served in the U.S. Army (1966–1968) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Detective Dennis J. Vickery is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 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 97,759 officers
0% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Dennis J. Vickery's cause is highlighted.

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

How Dennis J. Vickery Compares

Age at Death
71
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. Dennis J. Vickery is highlighted in Oct.

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

Dennis J. Vickery served in the U.S. Army (1966–1968) before joining law enforcement.

Visit Dennis J. Vickery’s page on salute.nw →

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