Roll of Honor
James Martin Kirchner
Incident
Border Patrol Inspector James Kirchner suffered a fatal heart attack while he and his training officer were investigating the sighting of three suspicious men walking near the Mexican border on Mount Cristo Rey in New Mexico. The training officer sent Inspector Kirchner to cut off the suspects at the top of the mountain. The training officer intercepted the three men and determined they were U.S. citizens. He then signaled Inspector Kirchner to return to the scene. After Inspector Kirchner failed to return his partner began to search for him and found him dead near the railroad tracks. It was determined he died of a heart attack despite having completed a rigorous physical examination prior to joining the agency. Inspector Kirchner had served with the United States Border Patrol for two weeks. He was survived by his wife. He was buried in Carthage, Missouri.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-CA7D67ED- 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
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Border Patrol Inspector Kirchner served with the United States Department of Justice.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Border Patrol Inspector Kirchner.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Border Patrol Inspector James Martin Kirchner is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 71 of 1,419 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, 6 of 68 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 8.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Martin Kirchner's cause is highlighted.
How James Martin Kirchner Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. James Martin Kirchner is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
67 officers from United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
