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Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire (Accidental)
Date/Time of Incident:
Thursday, May 31, 1945
10:30 pm
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Benjamin Harrison
Incident County:
Marion
Incident Township:
Lawrence
Weapon Used:
Officer's handgun
Suspect Disposition:
None

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Private Elton John Hendrix

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Private
Elton John Hendrix
United States Army Military Police Corps
Thursday, May 31, 1945

Not Included
Not Included

   Private Elton Hendrix was accidentally shot and killed during a riot at the United States Disciplinary Barracks Midwestern Branch at Fort Benjamin Harrison.

   Military prisoners began to riot, setting fire to an infirmary and a barracks before winds spread the fire burning nine other barracks causing over $100,000 in damage.

   When tower guards began firing warning shots into the ground, Private Hendrix was accidentally struck in the abdomen. He died en route to Billings General Hospital.

   Fireman Everett L. Jackson, 49, of the Indianapolis Fire Department died of asphyxiation from smoke inhalation while battling the fires.

   Of the 2,273 soldiers being held for serious offenses including murder, arson and rape, about 1,900 participated in the rioting of whom five were later charged under military law.

   Two soldiers were acquitted and of the three who were found guilty and court-martialed, two were sentenced to seven years, and one was sentenced to five years, at hard labor.

   Private Hendrix, from Paducah, Kentucky, was assigned as a guard attached to a military police battalion while serving with the 1530th Service Command Unit. He was survived by his parents, half sister and two half brothers.

Military Service


United States Army
World War II
Private (PVT) ▪ 1944–1945

Military Police Corps

Historical Notes

• Private Hendrix is the youngest known officer killed in the line of duty in Indiana.
• He also is the second-youngest known officer killed in the line of duty in the United States.

In Memoriam

  

Fireman Everett Lee Jackson
Indianapolis Fire Department
• Honored on the Indiana Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters Memorial in Indianapolis

~ ~ ~
This officer, discovered in 2021, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the United States Army Military Police Corps.

Personal Details

Age: 17
Law Enforcement Service:
5 months
Burial Place:
Masonic Cemetery, Metropolis, Illinois