Roll of Honor
Incident
Private Ben Pennington died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
The Texas Rangers were required to maintain order and enforce quarantine laws in force throughout the state. Officials in El Paso requested assistance from the Texas Rangers. Private Pennington and Private Robert E. Hunt were dispatched to keep order. Both men contracted influenza. Private Pennington became ill on October 7th, 1918, and died on October 11th, 1918. Private Hunt died on October 16th, 1918.
Private Pennington had served in law enforcement for a total of 20 years. He had served as a Texas Ranger for a year, 12 years as city marshal of Holland in Bell County, and eight years as an elected Precinct 3 Bell County constable. He was a well-known officer and, over his career, had been shot 16 times and lost an eye in various gun battles.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Private Ben L. Pennington died on October 11, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 57.
He is one of 201 officers honored here, and one of 3 at Texas Rangers.
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-TX-3035C0F1- 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.
Private Pennington gave the Texas Rangers 21 years.
Thank you for your service to the Austin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Private Pennington.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Private Ben L. Pennington 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 TX, 204 of 2,421 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Texas Rangers, 7 of 122 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. Ben L. Pennington's cause is highlighted.
How Ben L. Pennington Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Ben L. Pennington is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
121 officers from Texas Rangers are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
