Roll of Honor
Edward Joseph Smith
Incident
Location: New York Incident Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Weapon: Aircraft; Passenger jet Offender: 19 suicide attackers
Special Agent Edward Smith died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to evidence recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
Special Agent Smith had served in law enforcement for 21 years.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Special Agent Edward Joseph Smith was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 33 years old that fall.
He died on October 15, 2012 - 11 years and 1 month later - of an illness contracted there. He was 44.
He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 7 at United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations.
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 wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-61B8D1F7- 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
You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Special Agent Smith gave the United States Department of Homeland Security 21 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Agent Smith.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Agent Edward Joseph Smith 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 DC, 137 of 1,419 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.7% of this state's fallen. That is 0.6 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, 8 of 10 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 80% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward Joseph Smith's cause is highlighted.
How Edward Joseph Smith Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Edward Joseph Smith is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
9 officers from United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations are honored on badge.nw.
