Roll of Honor
Incident
Policeman Harry Byers died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
Policeman Byers was assigned to the Central Police Station.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Policeman Harry A. Byers died on December 9, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 34.
He is one of 201 officers honored here, and one of 10 at Los Angeles Police Department.
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 and 4-year-old daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-65DBFD20- 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
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Policeman Byers served with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Los Angeles community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Policeman Byers.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Policeman Harry A. Byers 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 CA, 75 of 1,837 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4.1% of this state's fallen. That is 5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Los Angeles Police Department, 22 of 240 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Harry A. Byers's cause is highlighted.
How Harry A. Byers Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Harry A. Byers is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
239 officers from Los Angeles Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
