Milford James Merrifield
Agency patch
Special Agent

Milford James Merrifield

Accident Veteran
End of Watch October 11, 1922
Age 22
Badge 1671
The Vigil Panel 44 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Special Agent Milford Merrifield drowned in the Mississippi River near Gretna, Louisiana, when the boat he was in sprung a leak and sank.

He was patrolling railroad property on both sides of the river and requested two other Texas and Pacific employees take him across the river in a skiff. The skiff developed a leak several hundred feet from shore and sank. The other two employees were able to swim to safety, but Special Agent Merrifield was caught in the current and pulled downstream. His body was recovered several days later.

Special Agent Merrifield was a U.S. Army veteran of WWI.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, father, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-BDB5EE5E
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

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Special Agent Merrifield served with the Texas and Pacific Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Fort Worth community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Location Fort Worth, TX
Platform Identity tprpd.rr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 11, 1922
Age 22
Badge Number 1671
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Milford James Merrifield served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Special Agent Milford James Merrifield is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Texas and Pacific Railroad Police Department, 4 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Texas and Pacific Railroad Police Department
4
of 6 officers
66.7% Accident
TX — Statewide
653
of 2,421 officers
27% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Milford James Merrifield's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Milford James Merrifield Compares

Age at End of Watch
22
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Milford James Merrifield is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location