William J. Nattkemper
Agency patch
Game Warden

William J. Nattkemper

Accident
End of Watch April 27, 1926
Age 58
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
The Vigil Panel 51 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Game Warden William Nattkemper and Game Warden William Peare drowned in the Wabash River at Tecumseh, north of Terre Haute, after their boat took on water and capsized. The two wardens, along with three other wardens, had just investigated the sound of gunshots and were returning upstream when their boat was swamped by large waves. The other three wardens were able to swim to safety. Game Warden Nattkemper had served with the Indiana Department of Conservation for five years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-22913582
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.
Game Warden Nattkemper gave the Indiana Department of Conservation 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Indianapolis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Game Warden Nattkemper.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Indianapolis, IN
Platform Identity indicons.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 27, 1926
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 58
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Game Warden William J. Nattkemper 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 IN, 151 of 503 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 6 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 85.7% of this agency's fallen.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources
6
of 7 officers
85.7% Accident
IN — Statewide
151
of 503 officers
30% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William J. Nattkemper's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How William J. Nattkemper Compares

Age at End of Watch
58
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
5
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William J. Nattkemper is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location