Posted on 09/11/2004 9:42:05 AM PDT by knighthawk
On this Sept. 11, we look back to the day when innocents and innocence died. When the sky fell and cries of despair rose to the heavens - despair that was conquered by faith and love and courage and the inspiration of a city full of valor and a country full of compassion. Since then, we have attempted to come to terms with mass murder, but acceptance is both impossible and unwanted. So we mourn, we rage and we soldier on. We go to work, to school, to houses of worship, and we mark the passage of three years - 1,095 days. But no matter how life changes, the 2,749 names on this dreadful roster are ever constant, each forever representing a crime against humanity.
Millionaire bond traders and minimum-wage restaurant workers alike, the people behind the names tend to be defined by what they did, the work that placed them, and not us, in the falling towers and on the hijacked jets. Their labors included the job description "hero." Among those who gave their all were 343 members of the New York City Fire Department, 37 Port Authority police and 23 NYPD officers.
But there was so much more to the 2,749. They form a lost community of parents, children, husbands, wives, siblings and friends who were woven into the lives of countless others for whom the void will never be filled. Linger on any of the names and just imagine.
Whatever tower rises above Ground Zero, however high and long shine beacons of light into the firmament, the 2,749 are best remembered as human beings, unique individuals who loved and were loved until evil intervened. They are gone, but they remain in the eternal embrace of this city and this nation.
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In addition to the 343 active firemen lost, 3 retired firefighters gave their lives in the rescue on 9/11/01.
The Bloomberg administration has refused to recognize Capt. Corrigan, FF Hayes and FF Wren as firemen or include them on the FDNY Wall of Honor and in the official count of lost firefighters.
Those who have been privileged to be a part of the Fire Department family know that the job becomes part of your blood. Both active and retired members share the same willingness to risk their lives to save others. Jim Corrigan, Phil Hayes, and Bill Wren all acted as they had throughout their careers, as New York City Firemen.
In their final moments, Jim Corrigan (WTC Fire & Life Safety Coordinator), Phil Hayes (WTC Fire Director) and Bill Wren (WTC Fire Director) ushered children from one of the WTC daycare centers to safety. They then returned to their posts where they perished saving others.
There were 346 ACTIVE members lost on 9-11. Capt. Corrigan, FF Hayes and FF Wren lost their lives while under the direct supervision of the FDNY, evacuating both firefighters and civilians.
For more info, go to www.AdamsAngels.org/forgottenheroes911.html
By the way, Phil Hayes was my cousin's Father in law. He was finally laid to rest on April 1, 2002
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