Jacob Ham Jr.
Agency patch
Lance Corporal

Jacob Ham Jr.

South Carolina Highway Patrol — Blythewood, SC
Cardiac
End of Watch February 8, 1998
Age 39
Tour of Duty 19 yrs
The Vigil Panel 144 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Lance Corporal Jacob Ham suffered a fatal heart attack in Darlington County while making a traffic stop of a drunk driver in which the suspect resisted arrest. After a short foot chase, Corporal Ham arrested the suspect and returned him to the patrol car, where he suffered the heart attack. Corporal Ham had called for backup, but suffered the heart attack before it arrived.

Survivors

Corporal Ham is survived by his wife, daughter, and son.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-466DC42E
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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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Lance Corporal Ham gave the South Carolina Highway Patrol 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of South Carolina. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lance Corporal Ham.

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

Agency

Type Highway Patrol
Location Blythewood, SC
Platform Identity schp.sc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 8, 1998
Tour of Duty 19 yrs
Age 39
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac
Weapon Person

Lance Corporal Jacob Ham Jr. is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In SC, 20 of 441 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.5% of this state's fallen. That is 4.5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At South Carolina Highway Patrol, 1 of 52 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 1.9% of this agency's fallen.

South Carolina Highway Patrol
1
of 52 officers
1.9% Cardiac
SC — Statewide
20
of 441 officers
4.5% Cardiac
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Jacob Ham Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

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

How Jacob Ham Jr. Compares

Age at Death
39
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
19
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Jacob Ham Jr. is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111