Lawrence Robert Graham
Agency patch
Patrolman

Lawrence Robert Graham

Dayton Police Department — Dayton, OH
Illness
End of Watch October 7, 1918
Age 24
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 7 mo
The Vigil Panel 34 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman Lawrence Graham died as a result of contracting influenza while in the performance of his assigned duties of enforcing health orders and operating ambulances during the Influenza Pandemic in Dayton.

Dayton City Police Officers had been ordered to close saloons that violated health orders, man ambulances, keep crowds from gathering, and remove corpses. More than 700 citizens died from the Spanish Influenza between October 1918 and January 1919. As a result of stopping the spread of the flu and maintaining order in the city of Dayton, many members of the Dayton City Police Department became ill with the flu, and six officers died.

Patrolman Graham served with the Dayton Police Department for less than two years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, father, three brothers, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-6CA7E9D4
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 barely got started.
Patrolman Graham gave the Dayton Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Dayton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Graham.

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

Agency

Location Dayton, OH
Platform Identity dpd.montgomery.oh.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 7, 1918
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 7 mo
Age 24
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Patrolman Lawrence Robert Graham 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 OH, 49 of 991 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.2 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.

At Dayton Police Department, 7 of 31 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 22.6% of this agency's fallen.

Dayton Police Department
7
of 31 officers
22.6% Illness
OH — Statewide
49
of 991 officers
4.9% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lawrence Robert Graham's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Lawrence Robert Graham Compares

Age at End of Watch
24
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
1.6
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Lawrence Robert Graham is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location