Roll of Honor
James Wendell Parham
Incident
Officer James Parham was killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while attempting to rescue the victims trapped in the World Trade Center.
Officer Parham was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for two years. He had previously served with the Texas Department of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was an instructor at the Port Authority Police Academy.
September 11, 2001
Police Officer James Wendell Parham was killed at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. He was 23 years old.
He is one of 72 officers honored here, and one of 37 at Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
Seventy-two law enforcement officers from eight local, state, and federal agencies were killed at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, alongside 343 members of the New York City Fire Department and more than 2,800 civilians. A fourth aircraft went down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a law enforcement officer aboard was among the dead.
Officers went into the towers while everyone else was coming out. More than 25,000 people reached safety because they did.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, daughter, and brother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-6027B5E7- 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. Marine Corps. One record, 2 gates. James is one person.
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Tributes
You went in while everyone else was coming out.
Police Officer Parham gave the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jersey City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Parham.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
James Wendell Parham served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer James Wendell Parham 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 NJ, 112 of 646 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 17.3% of this state's fallen. That is 17.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 53 of 60 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 88.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Wendell Parham's cause is highlighted.
How James Wendell Parham Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. James Wendell Parham is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Military Service
James Wendell Parham served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.
Visit James Wendell Parham’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
59 officers from Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
