Incident
Patrolman Oliver Young died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The Baltimore City 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 Young was survived by his wife.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman Oliver James Young died on October 5, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 32.
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
Patrolman Young was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MD-35589EC2- 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.
Patrolman Young served with the Baltimore City Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Baltimore community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Young.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Oliver James Young 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 MD, 15 of 377 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.1 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Baltimore Police Dept., 10 of 151 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 6.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Oliver James Young's cause is highlighted.
How Oliver James Young Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Oliver James Young is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
150 officers from Baltimore Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.














