Roll of Honor
John Mark Cortazzo
Incident
Officer John Cortazzo died as the result of an illness sustained during rescue and recovery efforts following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
Officer Cortazzo had served with the Port Authority Police Department for almost 17 years.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Police Officer John Mark Cortazzo was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 41 years old that fall.
He died on March 14, 2009 - 7 years and 6 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 48.
He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 18 at Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
The most recent of these deaths was October 24, 2025.
Officers who worked the search, rescue, and recovery at the World Trade Center site breathed contaminated air for weeks and months afterward. Many developed cancers and respiratory disease, and they have gone on dying of it ever since.
Seventy-two officers were killed on the morning itself. Hundreds more have died in the years that followed. They are honored here together, because the same attack killed them all. With some it simply took longer.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-E737AD1E- 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
You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Police Officer Cortazzo gave the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jersey City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Cortazzo.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer John Mark Cortazzo 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 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 18 of 60 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 30% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Mark Cortazzo's cause is highlighted.
How John Mark Cortazzo Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John Mark Cortazzo is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
59 officers from Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
