Roll of Honor
Incident
Corporal John Holzknecht succumbed to injuries sustained on November 15th, 1937, when he was involved in a vehicle crash at the intersection of Everett Avenue and Slaughter Avenue (modern day Patterson Avenue).
The police car that Corporal Holzknecht was a passenger in overturned after colliding with a milk truck at the intersection. The driver of the truck was charged with failure to yield right of way.
Corporal Holzknecht was transported to City Hospital where he stayed for several days before being sent home to recuperate. His condition continued to worsen and he died on January 13th, 1938, without having returned to duty.
Corporal Holzknecht had was a Spanish-American War veteran and had served with the Louisville Police Department for 20 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, four sisters, and two brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-EF3234F2- 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.
Corporal Holzknecht gave the Louisville Police Department 20 years.
Thank you for your service to the Louisville community. Thank you 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
John Holzknecht served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Corporal John Holzknecht 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 KY, 161 of 983 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 16.4% of this state's fallen. That is 14.6 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Louisville Police Department, 34 of 91 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Holzknecht's cause is highlighted.
How John Holzknecht Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Holzknecht is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
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