Where were you that morning? Were you just climbing out of bed and trudging to the kitchen for that first cup of coffee? Were you stuck in traffic on your way in to work? Were you just finishing a long shift and heading home? Were you dropping your children off at school and kissing them goodbye? Were you already at your job, working on the morning hustle?
Where were you the moment the first impact shook the globe? Were you close enough to feel it? See it? Smell the acrid stench of burning jet fuel and debris? Could you hear the screams as people ran away from the burning fire and falling debris? Or did you hear the sirens blowing in your ears as you rushed toward the building that held thousands of potential victims, desperate to save as many as you could?
Nineteen years ago today, while the world went on about its usual business, in the early morning for Americans on the east coast, a terrorist attack struck New York that forever changed the lives of millions of people around the world. Everyone old enough to remember already knows the story. Many still grieve the loss of loved ones or companions they had worked beside.
But for 412 first responders, it would be their last morning... no time for goodbyes, no time to call home. There was no time to do anything other than think of those people they were trying to save. For 412 people who ran toward the disaster while thousands of others ran away, it would be their epitaph. These were not people who were already doomed because they were inside the towers when those planes hit. They were not aboard those airliners. They were not inside the Pentagon. They were safe... at their homes, at their posts of station, on their patrols. They heard the radio calls and thought only of the people who needed their help. They ran towards those burning buildings. Then went inside. They put aside their own fear and put their lives on the line to help those in need. The civilians who died were victims who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the police, the firemen, the emergency workers... first responders... they were there because they made a decision to put the lives of the people before their own.
Thousands of first responders around the country gathered to discuss driving across whatever distance stood between them and New York to go and assist with the efforts. Hundreds converged on the scene minutes after the first plane hit. Dozens were already inside the first tower when the second one was hit. But it was only the beginning.
Since 9/11, there has been a number of police officers, fire fighters, and emergency workers who were there and breathed in all that dust, who have died of cancer, caused from its exposure. So the true number of first responders who have died as a result of that day has continued to rise. People who survived the initial event have still lost their lives as a result. And if asked did they regret it in the face of their illnesses, not a single one of them regretted their decisions of that day.
I remind you all of this because today, there are still police officers, firemen, and emergency workers who are actively working that remember that day. They remember how their comrades selflessly ran into a burning building to try to save those whose screams they could not ignore. You see, these are the heroes whose uniforms you are targeting today. These are the people the protestors and rioters want you to forget. These are the people who sacrificed everything to save the lives of someone’s father or mother, husband or wife, brother or sister, son or daughter... Yet all of those who died were someone’s father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, brother or sister.
Are there some among police who do things wrong... yes.... just as there are mechanics who swindle people, cooks who spit in people’s food, doctors who are negligent, contractors who do shoddy work, telemarketers who scam you out of money, and politicians who are crooked. To attack the entirety of the blue uniform simply because it is a uniform is nothing but another stereotype... another form of racism in and of itself. To say that black lives matter more than whites, or Chinese, or Indian, or any other race is in itself racist. It is a political agenda and it is hate. You cannot abolish racism by propagating more racism. You cannot abolish the tragedy that plagues our nation in the form of unnecessary deaths and murders of not only black men, women and children, but white, Chinese, Indian, or Latino. All lives, regardless of race, religion or creed matter. All are precious. All are diverse and all are beautiful. There is no job out there... no career, which does not have someone in it who does things wrong, or for the wrong reasons. This label is not cut out only for a blue uniform, or for a military man. There are people out there in every career field... in every city and town across the nation, who do things out of selfishness or hatred. People who grieve want someone to blame. But putting blame on an entire career field is not going to solve the problems of a few.
We do need reform... better screening programs for careers where a person wields a weapon or has the authority to detain another human being. We also need better screening for Politicians, doctors, and many other career fields. By the very nature of what it is to be human, there will always be those who do evil. But there are also millions more who live good, honest lives. It is not fair to target them for the deeds of a few. Change can be brought about... by holding those responsible for their deeds accountable... them and them alone... not their entire career field.
How many more would have died the day the towers came down had those 412 not run into burning buildings to get people out? How many more would have grieved for loved ones lost if not for those who sacrificed everything to save the ones that were lucky enough to cross their paths? As we sit and remember the civilians who died on September 11th, 2001, we need to also remember the brave souls who sacrificed everything to save as many as they could.
The following is a list of the first responder fatalities who responded to the World Trade Center:
Company Fatalities
FDNY Chief Peter J. Ganci Jr., 54
FDNY Commissioner William M. Feehan, 71
FDNY Marshal Ronald Paul Bucca, 47
FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge, 68
Citywide Tour Commanders Chief Gerard A. Barbara, 53
Chief Donald J. Burns‚ 61
Battalion 1 Chief Matthew Lancelot Ryan, 54
Lt. Paul Thomas Mitchell, 46
Battalion 2 Chief William McGovern, 49
Chief Richard Prunty, 57
Faustino Apostol, Jr., 55
Battalion 4 Lt. Thomas O'Hagan, 43
Battalion 6 Chief John P. Williamson, 46
Battalion 7 Chief Orio Palmer, 45
Lt. Stephen G. Harrell, 44
Lt. Philip Scott Petti, 43
Battalion 8 Chief Thomas Patrick DeAngelis, 51
Thomas McCann, 45
Battalion 9 Chief Dennis Lawrence Devlin, 51
Chief Edward F. Geraghty, 45
Lt. Charles William Garbarini, 44
Carl Asaro, 39
Alan D. Feinberg, 48
Battalion 11 Chief John M. Paolillo, 51
Battalion 12 Chief Frederick Claude Scheffold, Jr., 57
Battalion 22 Lt. Charles Joseph Margiotta, 44
Battalion 43 Lt. Geoffrey E. Guja, 49
Battalion 47 Lt. Anthony Jovic, 39
Battalion 48 Chief Joseph Grzelak, 52
Michael Leopoldo Bocchino, 45
Battalion 49 Chief John Moran, 42
Battalion 50 Chief Lawrence T. Stack, 58
Battalion 57 Chief Dennis Cross, 60
Chief Joseph Ross Marchbanks, Jr, 47
Division 1 Capt. Joseph D. Farrelly, 47
Capt. Thomas Moody, 45
Division 11 Capt. Timothy M. Stackpole, 42
Division 15 Chief Thomas Theodore Haskell, Jr., 37
Capt. Martin J. Egan, Jr., 36
Capt. William O'Keefe, 48
Engine 1 Lt. Andrew Desperito, 43
Michael T. Weinberg, 34
Engine 4 Calixto Anaya, Jr, 35
James C. Riches, 29
Thomas G. Schoales, 27
Paul A. Tegtmeier, 41
Engine 5 Manuel Del Valle, Jr, 32
Engine 6 Paul Beyer, 37
Thomas Holohan, 36
William R. Johnston, 31
Engine 8 Robert Parro, 35
Engine 10 Lt. Gregg Arthur Atlas, 44
Jeffrey James Olsen, 31
Paul Pansini, 34
Engine 21 Capt. William Francis Burke, Jr., 46
Engine 22 Thomas Anthony Casoria, 29
Michael J. Elferis, 27
Vincent D. Kane, 37
Martin E. McWilliams, 35
Engine 23 Robert McPadden, 30
James Nicholas Pappageorge, 29
Hector Luis Tirado, Jr., 30
Mark P. Whitford, 31
Engine 26 Capt. Thomas Farino, 37
Dana R Hannon, 29
Robert W. Spear, Jr., 30
Engine 33 Lt. Kevin Pfeifer, 42
David Arce, 36
Michael Boyle, 37
Robert Evans, 36
Keithroy Marcellus Maynard, 30
Engine 37 John Giordano, 47
Engine 40 Lt. John F. Ginley, 37
Kevin Bracken, 37
Michael D. D'Auria, 25
Bruce Gary, 51
Michael F. Lynch, 30
Steven Mercado, 38
Engine 54 Paul John Gill, 34
Jose Guadalupe, 37
Leonard Ragaglia, 36
Christopher Santora, 23
Engine 55 Lt. Peter L. Freund, 45
Robert Lane, 28
Christopher Mozzillo, 27
Stephen P. Russell, 40
Engine 58 Lt. Robert B. Nagel, 55
Engine 74 Ruben D. Correa, 44
Engine 201 Lt. Paul Richard Martini, 37
Gregory Joseph Buck, 37
Christopher Pickford, 32
John Albert Schardt, 34
Engine 205 Lt. Robert Francis Wallace, 43
Engine 207 Karl Henry Joseph, 25
Shawn Edward Powell, 32
Kevin O. Reilly, 28
Engine 214 Lt. Carl John Bedigian, 35
John Joseph Florio, 33
Michael Edward Roberts, 31
Kenneth Thomas Watson, 39
Engine 216 Daniel Suhr, 37
Engine 217 Lt. Kenneth Phelan, 41
Steven Coakley, 36
Neil Joseph Leavy, 34
Engine 219 John Chipura, 39
Engine 226 David Paul DeRubbio, 38
Brian McAleese, 36
Stanley S. Smagala, Jr., 36
Engine 230 Lt. Brian G. Ahearn, 43
Frank Bonomo, 42
Michael Scott Carlo, 34
Jeffrey Stark, 30
Eugene Whelan, 31
Edward James White III, 30
Engine 235 Lt. Steven Bates, 42
Nicholas Paul Chiofalo, 39
Francis Esposito, 32
Lee S. Fehling, 28
Lawrence G. Veling, 44
Engine 238 Lt. Glenn E. Wilkinson, 46
Engine 279 Ronnie Lee Henderson, 52
Michael Ragusa, 29
Anthony Rodriguez, 36
Engine 285 Raymond R. York, 45
Haz-Mat Operations Chief John Fanning, 54
Haz-Mat 1 Lt. John A. Crisci, 48
Dennis M. Carey, 51
Martin N. DeMeo, 47
Thomas Gardner, 39
Jonathan R. Hohmann, 48
Dennis Scauso, 46
Kevin Joseph Smith, 47
Ladder 2 Capt. Frederick Ill, Jr, 49
Michael J. Clarke, 27
George DiPasquale, 33
Denis P. Germain, 33
Daniel Edward Harlin, 41
Carl Molinaro, 32
Dennis Michael Mulligan, 32
Ladder 3 Capt. Patrick J. Brown, 48
Lt. Kevin W. Donnelly, 43
Michael Carroll, 39
James Raymond Coyle, 26
Gerard Dewan, 35
Jeffrey John Giordano, 45
Joseph Maloney, 45
John Kevin McAvoy, 47
Timothy Patrick McSweeney, 37
Joseph J. Ogren, 30
Steven John Olson, 38
Ladder 4 Capt. David Terence Wooley, 54
Lt. Daniel O'Callaghan, 42
Joseph Angelini, Jr, 38
Peter Brennan, 30
Michael E. Brennan, 27
Michael Haub, 34
Michael F. Lynch, 33
Samuel Oitice, 45
John James Tipping II, 33
Ladder 5 Lt. Vincent Francis Giammona, 40
Lt. Michael Warchola, 51
Louis Arena, 32
Andrew Brunn, 28
Thomas Hannafin, 36
Paul Hanlon Keating, 38
John A. Santore, 49
Gregory Thomas Saucedo, 31
Ladder 7 Capt. Vernon Allan Richard, 53
George Cain, 35
Robert Joseph Foti, 42
Charles Mendez, 38
Richard Muldowney Jr, 40
Vincent Princiotta, 39
Ladder 8 Lt. Vincent Gerard Halloran, 43
Ladder 9 Gerard Baptiste, 35
John P. Tierney, 27
Jeffrey P. Walz, 37
Ladder 10 Sean Patrick Tallon, 26
Ladder 11 Lt. Michael Quilty, 42
Michael F. Cammarata, 22
Edward James Day, 45
John F. Heffernan, 37
Richard John Kelly, Jr, 50
Robert King, Jr, 36
Matthew Rogan, 37
Ladder 12 Angel L. Juarbe, Jr, 35
Michael D. Mullan, 34
Ladder 13 Capt. Walter G. Hynes, 46
Thomas Hetzel, 33
Dennis McHugh, 34
Thomas E. Sabella, 44
Gregory Stajk, 46
Ladder 15 Lt. Joseph Gerard Leavey, 45
Richard Lanard Allen, 30
Arthur Thaddeus Barry, 35
Thomas W. Kelly, 50
Scott Kopytko, 32
Scott Larsen, 35
Douglas E. Oelschlager, 36
Eric T. Olsen, 41
Ladder 16 Lt. Raymond E. Murphy, 46
Robert Curatolo, 31
Ladder 20 Capt. John R. Fischer, 46
John Patrick Burnside, 36
James Michael Gray, 34
Sean S. Hanley, 35
David Laforge, 50
Robert Thomas Linnane, 33
Robert D. McMahon, 35
Ladder 21 Gerald T. Atwood, 38
Gerard Duffy, 53
Keith Glascoe, 38
Joseph Henry, 25
William E. Krukowski, 36
Benjamin Suarez, 34
Ladder 24 Capt. Daniel J. Brethel, 43
Stephen Elliot Belson, 51
Ladder 25 Lt. Glenn C. Perry, 41
Matthew Barnes, 37
John Michael Collins, 42
Kenneth Kumpel, 42
Robert Minara, 54
Joseph Rivelli, 43
Paul G. Ruback, 50
Ladder 27 John Marshall, 35
Ladder 35 Capt. Frank Callahan, 51
James Andrew Giberson, 43
Vincent S. Morello, 34
Michael Otten, 42
Michael Roberts, 30
Ladder 38 Joseph Spor, Jr., 35
Ladder 42 Peter Alexander Bielfeld, 44
Ladder 101 Lt. Joseph Gullickson, 37
Patrick Byrne, 39
Salvatore B. Calabro, 38
Brian Cannizzaro, 30
Thomas J. Kennedy, 36
Joseph Maffeo, 31
Terence A. McShane, 37
Ladder 105 Capt. Vincent Brunton, 43
Thomas Richard Kelly, 39
Henry Alfred Miller, Jr, 51
Dennis O'Berg, 28
Frank Anthony Palombo, 46
Ladder 111 Lt. Christopher P. Sullivan, 39
Ladder 118 Lt. Robert M. Regan, 48
Joseph Agnello, 35
Vernon Paul Cherry, 49
Scott Matthew Davidson, 33
Leon Smith, Jr., 48
Peter Anthony Vega, 36
Ladder 131 Christian Michael Otto Regenhard, 28
Ladder 132 Andrew Jordan, 36
Michael Kiefer, 25
Thomas Mingione, 34
John T. Vigiano II, 36
Sergio Villanueva, 33
Ladder 136 Michael Joseph Cawley, 32
Rescue 1 Capt. Terence S. Hatton, 41
Lt. Dennis Mojica, 50
Joseph Angelini, Sr., 63
Gary Geidel, 44
William Henry, 49
Kenneth Joseph Marino, 40
Michael Montesi, 39
Gerard Terence Nevins, 46
Patrick J. O'Keefe, 44
Brian Edward Sweeney, 29
David M. Weiss, 41
Rescue 2 Lt. Peter C. Martin, 43
William David Lake, 44
Daniel F. Libretti, 43
John Napolitano, 32
Kevin O'Rourke, 44
Lincoln Quappe, 38
Edward Rall, 44
Rescue 3 Christopher Joseph Blackwell, 42
Thomas Foley, 32
Thomas Gambino, Jr., 48
Raymond Meisenheimer, 46
Donald J. Regan, 47
Gerard Patrick Schrang, 45
Rescue 4 Capt. Brian Hickey, 47
Lt. Kevin Dowdell, 46
Terrence Patrick Farrell, 45
William J. Mahoney, 37
Peter Allen Nelson, 42
Durrell V. Pearsall, 34
Rescue 5 Capt. Louis Joseph Modafferi, 45
Lt. Harvey Harrell, 49
Lt. Joseph A. Mascali, 44
John P. Bergin, 39
Carl Vincent Bini, 44
Michael Curtis Fiore, 46
Andre G. Fletcher, 37
Douglas Charles Miller, 34
Jeffrey Matthew Palazzo, 33
Nicholas P. Rossomando, 35
Allan Tarasiewicz, 45
Safety Battalion Robert J. Crawford, 62
Special Operations Chief Raymond Matthew Downey, 63
Chief Charles Kasper, 54
Capt. Patrick J. Waters, 44
Lt. Timothy Higgins, 43
Lt. Michael Thomas Russo, Sr, 44
Squad 1 Capt. James M. Amato, 43
Lt. Edward A. D'Atri, 38
Lt. Michael Esposito, 41
Lt. Michael N. Fodor, 53
Brian Bilcher, 37
Gary Box, 37
Thomas M. Butler, 37
Peter Carroll, 42
Robert Cordice, 28
David J. Fontana, 37
Matthew David Garvey, 37
Stephen Gerard Siller, 34
Squad 18 Lt. William E. McGinn, 43
Eric Allen, 44
Andrew Fredericks, 40
David Halderman, 40
Timothy Haskell, 34
Manuel Mojica, 37
Lawrence Virgilio, 38
Squad 41 Lt. Michael K. Healey, 42
Thomas Patrick Cullen III, 31
Robert Hamilton, 43
Michael J. Lyons, 32
Gregory Sikorsky, 34
R. Bruce Van Hine, 48
Squad 252 Tarel Coleman, 32
Thomas Kuveikis, 48
Peter J. Langone, 41
Patrick Lyons, 34
Kevin Prior, 28
Squad 288 Lt. Ronald T. Kerwin, 42
Ronnie E. Gies, 43
Joseph Hunter, 31
Jonathan Lee Ielpi, 29
Adam David Rand, 30
Timothy Matthew Welty, 34
EMS Battalion 49 Paramedic Carlos R. Lillo, 37
EMS Battalion 57 Paramedic Ricardo J. Quinn, 40
Port Authority Police Department Supt. Ferdinand V. Morrone, 63
Chief James A. Romito, 51
Lt. Robert D. Cirri, 39
Insp. Anthony P. Infante, Jr., 47
Capt. Kathy Nancy Mazza, 46
Sgt. Robert M. Kaulfers, 49
Donald James McIntyre, 38
Walter Arthur McNeil, 53
Joseph Michael Navas, 44
James Nelson, 40
Alfonse J. Niedermeyer, 40
James Wendell Parham, 32
Dominick A. Pezzulo, 36
Antonio J. Rodrigues, 35
Richard Rodriguez, 31
Bruce Albert Reynolds, 41
Christopher C. Amoroso, 29
Maurice V. Barry, 48
Clinton Davis, Sr., 38
Donald A. Foreman, 53
Gregg J. Froehner, 46
Uhuru Gonga Houston, 32
George G. Howard, 44
Thomas E. Gorman, 41
Stephen Huczko, Jr., 44
Paul William Jurgens, 47
Liam Callahan, 44
Paul Laszczynski, 49
David Prudencio LeMagne, 27
John Joseph Lennon, Jr., 44
John Dennis Levi, 50
James Francis Lynch, 47
John P. Skala, 31
Walwyn W. Stuart, Jr., 28
Kenneth F. Tietjen, 31
Nathaniel Webb, 56
Michael T. Wholly, 34
PAPD police dog - Sirius
New York City Police Department Sgt. Timothy A. Roy, Sr., 36
Sgt. John Gerard Coughlin, 43
Sgt. Rodney C. Gillis, 33
Sgt. Michael S. Curtin, 45
Det. Joseph V. Vigiano, 34
Det. Claude Daniel Richards, 46
Moira Ann Smith, 38
Ramon Suarez, 45
Paul Talty, 40
Santos Valentin, Jr., 39
Walter E. Weaver, 30
Ronald Philip Kloepfer, 39
Thomas M. Langone, 39
James Patrick Leahy, 38
Brian Grady McDonnell, 38
John William Perry, 38
Glen Kerrin Pettit, 30
John D'Allara, 47
Vincent Danz, 38
Jerome M. P. Dominguez, 37
Stephen P. Driscoll, 38
Mark Joseph Ellis, 26
Robert Fazio, Jr., 41
This list is not even complete, as at least 241 officers and fire fighters have since lost their lives to cancer caused by the highly toxic dust they breathed in that day and in the days that followed. There were also a number of volunteers or private sector EMTs and search and rescue who became casualties of this day.
Every name on this list is a reason to judge each person individually and not by the uniform they do or do not wear. We need to come together as a nation and solve, not dissolve, the foundations this country is built on. Only then will there truly be peace.
- Dedicated to all the men and women who wear a uniform: to the police, the fire departments, the military, the emergency teams, search and rescue, doctors, nurses, and volunteers. Keep the faith. We believe in you.
K.R. Fraser