Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Merlin Kaeo and Pilot Thomas Moher were killed when the helicopter they were flying struck utility wires. Officer Kaeo had served with the Honolulu Police Department for nine years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-HI-0BACD51B- 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.
Officer Kaeo gave the Honolulu Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Honolulu community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Kaeo.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Merlin Clyde Kaeo 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 HI, 28 of 64 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 43.8% of this state's fallen. That is 12.8 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Honolulu Police Department, 28 of 51 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 54.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Merlin Clyde Kaeo's cause is highlighted.
How Merlin Clyde Kaeo Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Merlin Clyde Kaeo is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
50 officers from Honolulu Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
