Roll of Honor
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 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
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Air Force. One record, 2 gates. William is one person.
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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
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
William Robert Craig served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.
Special Agent William Robert Craig is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 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 9.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
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.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Robert Craig's cause is highlighted.
How William Robert Craig Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William Robert Craig is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Military Service
William Robert Craig served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.
Visit William Robert Craig’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
88 officers from United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
