Roll of Honor
William James Leahy
Incident
Police Officer William Leahy died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
Officer Leahy had served with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for 26 years and was assigned to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Officer Leahy had served with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for 26 years and was assigned to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Police Officer William James Leahy was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 32 years old that fall.
He died on June 6, 2019 - 17 years and 8 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 49.
He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 18 at Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
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
He is survived by his parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-DBBE284D- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 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.
Police Officer Leahy gave the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department 26 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jersey City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Leahy.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer William James Leahy is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In NJ, 112 of 646 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 17.3% of this state's fallen. That is 17.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 53 of 60 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 88.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William James Leahy's cause is highlighted.
How William James Leahy Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William James Leahy is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
59 officers from Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
