John T. Meistrell

Nebraska State Patrol — Lincoln, NE

Accident

End of Watch April 10, 1953

Age 40

Tour of Duty 13 yrs

Badge 67

The Vigil Panel 89 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 14

Incident

Trooper John Meistrell succumbed to injuries he received in a vehicle crash on Highway 275 on March 31, 1953. Trooper Meistrell was traveling on Highway 275 when he lost control on the rain-slicked road and struck a tree about a mile from the Highway 275 and Highway 77 junction. He was transported to Dodge County Hospital with a broken neck. He succumbed to his injuries ten days later. Tropper Meistrell had served with the Nebraska State Patrol for 13 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two children, three brothers, and one sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-NE-7BB01B34
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.
Trooper Meistrell gave the Nebraska State Patrol 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Nebraska. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Meistrell.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Nebraska State Patrol

Location Lincoln, NE

Platform Identity nhp.ne.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 10, 1953

Tour of Duty 13 yrs

Age 40

Badge Number 67

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Trooper John T. Meistrell 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 NE, 36 of 151 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.8% of this state's fallen. That is 7.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Nebraska State Patrol, 7 of 15 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 46.7% of this agency's fallen.

Nebraska State Patrol

of 15 officers

46.7% Accident

NE — Statewide

of 151 officers

23.8% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident