Roll of Honor
Incident
Location: New York Incident Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Weapon: Aircraft; Passenger jet Offender: 19 suicide attackers
Detective Mo Joseph died as the result of cancer that he developed following his volunteer assignment with the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
Forty law enforcement officers from the Norfolk Police Department traveled to New York City on their personal vacation time without pay to volunteer their assistance and support to the on-site emergency agencies.
Detective Joseph had served with the Norfolk Police Department for 26 years.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Detective Maurice "Mo" Joseph was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 41 years old that fall.
He died on October 9, 2024 - 23 years later - of an illness contracted there. He was 64.
He is one of 599 officers honored here.
The most recent of these deaths was October 24, 2025.
Officers who worked the search, rescue, and recovery at the World Trade Center site breathed contaminated air for weeks and months afterward. Many developed cancers and respiratory disease, and they have gone on dying of it ever since.
Seventy-two officers were killed on the morning itself. Hundreds more have died in the years that followed. They are honored here together, because the same attack killed them all. With some it simply took longer.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter, and grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-B87BC06F- 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
You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Detective Joseph gave the Norfolk Police Department 26 years.
Thank you for your service to the Norfolk community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Joseph.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Maurice "Mo" Joseph 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 VA, 23 of 654 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.5% of this state's fallen. That is 5.6 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Norfolk Police Dept., 1 of 39 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 2.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Maurice "Mo" Joseph's cause is highlighted.
How Maurice "Mo" Joseph Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Maurice "Mo" Joseph is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
38 officers from Norfolk Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
