Roll of Honor
William Bird Goodell
Incident
Inspector William Goodell and Deputy Collector James Anderson drowned in Washington state during a severe flood that swept the Port Angeles Customs House from its foundation and into the Strait of Juan De Fuca in Washinton. The Customs House was located at the foot of Valley Creek. A log jam upriver broke free during a storm, causing the floodwaters to sweep into the valley. Inspector Goodell had served with the United States Customs Service for only one week.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-0E4150A2- 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
163 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Inspector Goodell served with the United States Department of the Treasury.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Inspector William Bird Goodell 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 DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service, 44 of 94 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 46.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Bird Goodell's cause is highlighted.
How William Bird Goodell Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Bird Goodell is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
, WA.
Others Who Wore This Badge
93 officers from United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
