William Robert "Bob" Craig
Agency patch
Special Agent

William Robert "Bob" Craig

Illness Veteran
End of Watch April 9, 2012
Age 68
Tour of Duty 31 yrs
The Vigil Panel 161 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Location: Pennsylvania Incident Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Weapon: Aircraft; Passenger jet Offender: 19 suicide attackers

Special Agent Bob Craig died as a result of cancer he developed from being exposed to hazardous materials during recovery efforts at the crash site of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

Special Agent Craig was a United States Air Force veteran and had served with the United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation for 31 years.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Special Agent William Robert "Bob" Craig was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 58 years old that fall.

He died on April 9, 2012 - 10 years and 6 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 68.

He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 19 at United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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

Survivors include his wife, four children, sister, brother, and four grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-9F486667
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.
Special Agent Craig gave the United States Department of Justice 31 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Agent Craig.

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

Agency

Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usdjfbifed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 9, 2012
Tour of Duty 31 yrs
Age 68
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet
Offender 19 suicide attackers

Military Service

William Robert "Bob" Craig served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Special Agent William Robert "Bob" Craig 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 DC, 137 of 1,419 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.7% of this state's fallen. That is 0.6 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.

At United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation, 20 of 89 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 22.5% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation
20
of 89 officers
22.5% Illness
DC — Statewide
137
of 1,419 officers
9.7% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Robert "Bob" Craig'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 William Robert "Bob" Craig Compares

Age at End of Watch
68
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
31
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

Offender Outcome

19 suicide attackers

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William Robert "Bob" Craig is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location