Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer William Luce died from cancer which he contracted after being exposed to radiation while on duty. He was testing different rifles when a scope on one of them exploded, exposing him to radiation. Officer Luce was a Vietnam War veteran.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and six children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-8CEB3068- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Luce gave the Chicago Police Department 20 years.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
William J. Luce served in the Air Force (1963â1964) before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer William J. Luce 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 IL, 66 of 1,318 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 5% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Chicago Police Department, 46 of 571 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William J. Luce's cause is highlighted.
How William J. Luce Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William J. Luce is highlighted in Aug.
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
