Roll of Honor
Incident
Special Agent Ray Daugherty died after being struck by a light switch engine and knocked from a bridge in Columbus, Nebraska. During WWI following numerous threats and some bombings, the Chief Special Agent of the railroad police assigned a large number of agents to bridge guard duty. They were to run across bridges behind passenger trains to make sure no one threw a bomb off while crossing the bridge. Special Agent Daugherty was working the Loup River bridge at Columbus, Nebraska when he was following a train across the bridge and was struck by the switch engine and knocked from the bridge. Special Agent Daugherty had served with the agency for only four days.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and several children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-AEB5719C- 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
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Special Agent Daugherty served with the Union Pacific Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Omaha community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Agent Daugherty.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Agent Ray Watson Daugherty is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NE, 36 of 151 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.8% of this state's fallen. That is 7.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Union Pacific Railroad Police Department, 8 of 21 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 38.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ray Watson Daugherty's cause is highlighted.
How Ray Watson Daugherty Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ray Watson Daugherty is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
20 officers from Union Pacific Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
