Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman William DuChene died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The Detroit 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 DuChene served with the Detroit Police Department for seven years.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman William George DuChene died on October 11, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 34.
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.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-FCCEF069- 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
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Patrolman DuChene gave the Detroit Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman DuChene.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman William George DuChene is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In MI, 24 of 719 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.3% of this state's fallen. That is 3.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Detroit Police Department, 7 of 250 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 2.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William George DuChene's cause is highlighted.
How William George DuChene Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William George DuChene is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
249 officers from Detroit Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
