Arlington County police corporal dies from 9/11 related cancer, department says

ARLINGTON, Va. - An Arlington County police corporal who responded to the Pentagon on September 11 has died from 9/11‑related cancer, the department announced Tuesday.

What we know:

Corporal Barry Foust died Friday, May 22, 2026. On the morning of the attacks, Foust was on patrol at Walter Reed Drive and Columbia Pike when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. He responded and spent the following week at the site, helping collect evidence and the remains of victims.

Arlington County police corporal dies from 9/11 related cancer, department says (Arlington County Police Department)

Foust was diagnosed with cancer linked to his recovery work in June 2025.

He joined the Arlington County Police Department in 1986 as a patrol officer and later became a certified motor officer. After retiring in June 2019, he served with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department from March 2020 to December 2022. When ACPD faced staffing shortages following the COVID‑19 pandemic, Foust returned to duty in December 2022.

His death marks Arlington County’s eighth law enforcement line‑of‑duty death and the second attributed to 9/11‑related cancer.