Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John Clifford died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The Watertown 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.
Patrolman Clifford served with the Watertown Police Department for 10 years.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman John Joseph Clifford died on December 9, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 38.
He is one of 201 officers honored here, and one of 2 at Watertown Police Department.
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 seven siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-A74AA906- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Patrolman Clifford gave the Watertown Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Watertown community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Clifford.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John Joseph Clifford is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 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 12.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Watertown Police Department, 2 of 4 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Joseph Clifford's cause is highlighted.
How John Joseph Clifford Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John Joseph Clifford is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Watertown Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
