Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Francis O'Brien succumbed to internal injuries sustained while rescuing a small child from a burning house on West Main Street in Millville on August 6, 1935.
During the rescue attempt, both he and the child were exposed to severe smoke. The baby died while en route to the hospital.
Trooper O'Brien suffered severe damage to his lungs and was forced to medically retire in 1941. He died as a result of a severe lung attack on November 27, 1944.
He received the Medal of Valor for his heroic actions.
Trooper O'Brien had served with the New Jersey State Police for ten years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and child.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-DD3336E8- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper O'Brien gave the New Jersey State Police 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper O'Brien.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper Francis R. O'Brien is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At New Jersey State Police, 53 of 84 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 63.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Francis R. O'Brien's cause is highlighted.
How Francis R. O'Brien Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Francis R. O'Brien is highlighted in Nov.
Others Who Wore This Badge
83 officers from New Jersey State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
