Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Billy McDermott died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
He was on duty when he became ill and was taken to his home, where he succumbed to his illness three days later. During October 1918, the Perth Amboy Police Department had 14 additional officers contract influenza and were unable to report for duty. They relied on members of the Home Defense League to patrol the area.
Sergeant McDermott served with the Perth Amboy Police Department for 20 years.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Sergeant William H. McDermott died on October 1, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 61.
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 six children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-A7A14C5F- 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.
Sergeant McDermott gave the Perth Amboy Police Department 20 years.
Thank you for your service to the Perth Amboy community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant McDermott.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant William H. McDermott 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 NJ, 77 of 646 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 11.9% of this state's fallen. That is 2.8 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At Perth Amboy Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William H. McDermott's cause is highlighted.
How William H. McDermott Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William H. McDermott is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Perth Amboy Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
