Posted on 03/15/2007 3:55:34 PM PDT by knighthawk
It started, as wondrous stories often do, in Ireland. It ended yesterday at Engine 1/Ladder 24 on W. 31st St., with the presentation of a magnificent sculpture whose centerpiece honors Father Mychal Judge and the 342 other members of the FDNY who died on 9/11.
The artwork - by Waterford Crystal master engraver Sean Egan - depicts the heartrending tableau of Father Judge, FDNY chaplain, being carried from the ruins of the twin towers. Representations of those ruins bracket the men, in memory of everyone who died that day.
Laboring on his own time and intending perhaps someday to present it to a city firehouse, Egan had started a small version of the sculpture using discarded crystal from a factory trash bin. Firefighter Michael O'Rourke, FDNY Division 7, touring the plant in October, saw the piece and promised Egan to "try to help him find its rightful place."
Word of the sculpture made its way around the plant and eventually to the ears - and eyes - of CEO John Foley, who commissioned the larger artwork that now stands in that "rightful place" - Father Judge's firehouse, the one across the street from his residence at St. Francis of Assisi Church.
The fragile thing of beauty will be placed on view after the FDNY constructs a display to protect it. Then it will stand in powerful tribute to the Bravest who protect the rest of us at risk of their lives - so many of which were sacrificed one terrible September day.
Ping
Never Forget, bump.
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