Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Herman Mittendorf died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The Cincinnati Police Department had been tasked with enforcing local health laws to help prevent the spread of Influenza as well as perform their regular police duties. Many officers in the department became ill while on duty and died as a result of complications of influenza.
Patrolman Mittendorf served with the Cincinnati Police Department for 10 years. He was survived by his expectant wife, and two children. He is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman Herman Henry Mittendorf, Jr. died on March 13, 1919 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 36.
He is one of 201 officers honored here, and one of 3 at Cincinnati Police Department.
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 expectant wife, and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-C39BAC7E- 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 Mittendorf gave the Cincinnati Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Cincinnati community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Mittendorf.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Herman Henry Mittendorf, Jr. 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 Cincinnati Police Department, 6 of 106 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 5.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Herman Henry Mittendorf, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Herman Henry Mittendorf, Jr. Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Herman Henry Mittendorf, Jr. is highlighted in Mar.
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from Cincinnati Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
