Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman George Schnieder died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The Erie Police Department had been tasked with enforcing local health laws to help prevent the spread of influenza, as well as performing their regular police duties. Many officers in the department became ill while on duty and died as a result of complications of influenza.
Patrolman Schneider was survived by his wife and three daughters.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman George William Schneider died on October 13, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 39.
He is one of 201 officers honored here.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people worldwide than the war that preceded it. Police officers worked it without vaccines, without antibiotics, and often without masks, enforcing quarantines, transporting the sick, and standing posts in cities where the dead outpaced the undertakers.
They caught it doing the job. There was no treatment to give them.
Survivors
Patrolman Schneider was survived by his wife and three daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-38AEEAFF- 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
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Patrolman Schneider served with the Erie Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Erie community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Schneider.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman George William Schneider is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In PA, 121 of 1,261 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.6% of this state's fallen. That is 0.5 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At Erie Police Department, 3 of 14 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 21.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. George William Schneider's cause is highlighted.
How George William Schneider Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. George William Schneider is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
13 officers from Erie Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
