Roll of Honor
John M. Collins
Incident
Captain John Collins 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.
Captain Collins had served with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for 24 years. He also served as the Chief of Police for the College of New Jersey for nine years.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Captain John M. Collins was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 42 years old that fall.
He died on April 26, 2024 - 22 years and 7 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 64.
He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 18 at Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 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 was survived by his wife, two sons, his father, and two brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-3CB86506- 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
You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Captain Collins gave the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department 33 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jersey City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Captain Collins.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Captain John M. Collins 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 NJ, 77 of 646 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 11.9% of this state's fallen. That is 2.8 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 18 of 60 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 30% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John M. Collins's cause is highlighted.
How John M. Collins Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John M. Collins is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
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.
