Roll of Honor
John Ben Merz
Incident
Location: Illinois Weapon: Person Offender: Not available
Special Agent John Merz was struck and killed by a locomotive in the Illinois Central Railroad yards in Champaign, Illinois.
He had just been involved in a foot pursuit of a hobo and was walking through the yards when he was fatally struck.
Special Agent Merz was a U.S. Army veteran of WWI.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-41DDD23B- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army. One record, 2 gates. John is one person.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Special Agent Merz served with the Illinois Central Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
John Ben Merz served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.
Special Agent John Ben Merz is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 26.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Illinois Central Railroad Police Department, 2 of 12 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Ben Merz's cause is highlighted.
How John Ben Merz Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Ben Merz is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Military Service
John Ben Merz served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.
Visit John Ben Merz’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
11 officers from Illinois Central Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
