Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Reese Bowen died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The Lexington Police Department had been tasked with enforcing local health laws to help prevent the spread of influenza, as well as performing their regular police duties.
Patrolman Bowen served with the Lexington Police Department for seven months.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman Reese Bowen died on November 29, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 36.
He is one of 201 officers honored here.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people worldwide than the war that preceded it. Police officers worked it without vaccines, without antibiotics, and often without masks, enforcing quarantines, transporting the sick, and standing posts in cities where the dead outpaced the undertakers.
They caught it doing the job. There was no treatment to give them.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, mother, stepfather, and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-31825624- 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
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Patrolman Bowen served with the Lexington Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Lexington community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Bowen.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Reese Bowen 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 KY, 21 of 983 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 2.1% of this state's fallen. That is 7 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Lexington Police Department, 1 of 12 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Reese Bowen's cause is highlighted.
How Reese Bowen Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Reese Bowen is highlighted in Nov.
Others Who Wore This Badge
11 officers from Lexington Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
