Roll of Honor
William C. Sheldon
Incident
Location: New York Incident Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Weapon: Aircraft; Passenger jet Offender: 19 suicide attackers
Special Agent Bill Sheldon died as the result of cancer he developed as a direct result of participating in rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
Agent Sheldon assisted with directing people away from the towers on the day of the attack. He was then exposed to toxic debris while assisting with the search and recovery efforts at Ground Zero in the weeks following the attack. He and two other members of his 5-person ATF team were eventually diagnosed with cancer that was determined to be a result of their exposure to the toxic debris.
His health continued to deteriorate until he passed away on March 2nd, 2015.
Special Agent Sheldon was a U.S. Army combat veteran and had served with ATF for 22 years.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Special Agent William C. Sheldon was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 34 years old that fall.
He died on March 2, 2015 - 13 years and 5 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 47.
He is one of 599 officers honored here.
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 young children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-79FECED1- 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 Sheldon gave the United States Department of Justice 22 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Agent Sheldon.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
William C. Sheldon served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Special Agent William C. Sheldon 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 Justice - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 1 of 5 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 20% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William C. Sheldon's cause is highlighted.
How William C. Sheldon Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William C. Sheldon is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
4 officers from United States Department of Justice - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are honored on badge.nw.
