Roll of Honor
Incident
Reserve Police Officer John Donnelly contracted the Spanish flu during the commission of his job duties while assigned to the ambulance unit.
Officer Donnelly served with the Cambridge Police Department for over two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-BA4AE7A2- 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.
Reserve Police Officer Donnelly gave the Cambridge Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Cambridge community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Reserve Police Officer Donnelly.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Reserve Police Officer John William Donnelly 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 Cambridge Police Department, 4 of 12 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John William Donnelly's cause is highlighted.
How John William Donnelly Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John William Donnelly is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
11 officers from Cambridge Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
