Roll of Honor
Incident
Reserve Police Officer James Orr contracted Spanish Influenza while guarding the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall at 526 Market Street in Philadelphia. He died from complications at his home in the 1500 block of Wharton Street a week later.
Reserve Police Officer Orr was the oldest police officer in age and length of service in the department at the time. He was very well known to the officers in the police department and often answered questions and briefly talked about the history of the Liberty Bell to its many visitors each year during his assignment.
Reserve Police Officer Orr was a Union Army veteran and had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 49 years. He had been assigned to guard the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall for 25 years.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Reserve Police Officer James Orr died on November 26, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 80.
He is one of 201 officers honored here, and one of 45 at Philadelphia 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 wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-0A1775BE- 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.
Reserve Police Officer Orr gave the Philadelphia Police Department 49 years.
Thank you for your service to the Philadelphia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Reserve Police Officer Orr.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
James Orr served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Reserve Police Officer James Orr 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 PA, 121 of 1,261 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.6% of this state's fallen. That is 0.5 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At Philadelphia Police Department, 66 of 378 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 17.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Orr's cause is highlighted.
How James Orr Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. James Orr is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
377 officers from Philadelphia Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
