Roll of Honor
John Fraser Pugh
Incident
District Collector John Pugh was killed when the steamship Princess Sophia sank after grounding on Vanderbilt Reef, in Lynn Canal between Skagway, Alaska and Juneau, Alaska.
He had traveled to Skagway on official business to assist with the annual winter exodus of workers from the Yukon. The steamship had blown approximately one mile off course during the trip and became grounded on the reef during a severe snowstorm on October 23rd, 1918. Due to the strong storm and its location, other ships were unable to get close enough to provide assistance. At some point overnight between October 25th and October 26th, the ship's boiler exploded and the ship sank.
All 353 passengers and crew died as a result.
District Collector Pugh had served with the United States Customs Service for 16 years and served as the District Collector for Juneau.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-3E807353- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
District Collector Pugh gave the United States Department of the Treasury 16 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, District Collector Pugh.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
District Collector John Fraser Pugh is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 32 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service, 44 of 94 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 46.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Fraser Pugh's cause is highlighted.
How John Fraser Pugh Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Fraser Pugh is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
93 officers from United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
