End of Watch October 25, 1968
Age 45
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
The Vigil Panel 104 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Border Patrol Inspector Ralph Anderson was accidentally shot and killed when his rifle discharged while on patrol in a rugged area two miles east of San Ysidro, California. The rifle, which was not secured inside the cab of his patrol vehicle, struck another item in the vehicle. The trigger was pulled back and the rifle discharged and struck Inspector Anderson in the head. Inspector Anderson had served with the United States Border Patrol for 18 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-AC8F71FE
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.
Border Patrol Inspector Anderson gave the United States Department of Justice 18 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Border Patrol Inspector Anderson.

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

Agency

Type Federal Agency
Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usdjinsusbpfed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 25, 1968
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
Age 45
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Border Patrol Inspector Ralph L. Anderson is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In DC, 453 of 1,418 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 31.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, 46 of 68 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 67.6% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol
46
of 68 officers
67.6% Accident
DC — Statewide
453
of 1,418 officers
31.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ralph L. Anderson's cause is highlighted.

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

How Ralph L. Anderson Compares

Age at Death
45
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
18
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ralph L. Anderson is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location