Roll of Honor
Incident
Captain Edward Rathbun died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The city of Springfield, due to the overwhelming number of cases of influenza and shortage of doctors, worked in coordination with the Massachusetts Army National Guard and the MassMutual Insurance Company to create a temporary field hospital outside of Springfield in Forrest Park known as "Tent City" to treat victims of the Influenza. The Springfield Police Department had been tasked with enforcing local health laws to help prevent the spread of influenza, as well as performing their regular police duties.
Captain Rathbun served with the Springfield Police Department for 10 years.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Captain Edward James Rathbun died on December 8, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 35.
He is one of 201 officers honored here.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people worldwide than the war that preceded it. Police officers worked it without vaccines, without antibiotics, and often without masks, enforcing quarantines, transporting the sick, and standing posts in cities where the dead outpaced the undertakers.
They caught it doing the job. There was no treatment to give them.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-82A30F8A- 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
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Captain Rathbun gave the Springfield Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Springfield community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Captain Rathbun.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Captain Edward James Rathbun 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 MA, 59 of 469 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 12.6% of this state's fallen. That is 3.5 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At Springfield Police Department, 3 of 19 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 15.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward James Rathbun's cause is highlighted.
How Edward James Rathbun Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Edward James Rathbun is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
18 officers from Springfield Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
