Roll of Honor
William A. Pross
Incident
Special Deputy Marshal William Pross and Special Deputy Marshal Jessie Bristol were killed in a collision between two trains in the Northern Pacific yards in Chicago, Illinois.
Both were in a group of four deputy marshals who were assigned to patrol the Wisconsin Central Railroad to combat crime. All four were on a Wisconsin Central train standing near a crossing, at 16th and Brown streets at about 1:00 pm, when it was struck by an oncoming Baltimore and Ohio train on the same tracks.
Special Deputy Bristol was killed instantly. Special Deputy Pross was taken to Cook County Hospital where he died three hours later before undergoing surgery. A third special deputy was seriously wounded, but survived.
Special Deputy Pross was survived by his wife.
Survivors
Special Deputy Pross was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-FFB1D101- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew William. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
132 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Special Deputy Marshal Pross served with the United States Department of Justice.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Deputy Marshal William A. Pross is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service, 43 of 313 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 13.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William A. Pross's cause is highlighted.
How William A. Pross Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William A. Pross is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
312 officers from United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
