Op-ed
Honoring The 9/11 First Responders
BY ED HORN

On Saturday, September 8, St. Michael's hosted a 9/11 Memorial Service honoring the First Responders who ran to the fires of hell and death. They had the option of turning away. Only a fool would doubt that entering the burning Towers meant death.

The attacks caused the greatest loss of First Responders' deaths ever in the history of the U.S. The Fire Department of the City of New York lost 343 Firefighters. The Port Authority Police lost 37 officers. The New York Police Department sustained the deaths of 23 men and women. These sacrifices represent more than 10 percent of those who died at the Towers.

Without question the heroism of these officers and firefighters saved countless New Yorkers from the fires and collapsing Towers. Many families today have the joy of a loved one who is alive only as a consequence of the sacrifice of others. Though the nation suffered terribly on 9/11, New Yorkers are impacted in ways that others are not. The bloodstain left by the attacks is indelible.

In the past St. Michael's has dedicated a Memorial to the 76 Queens Firefighters and the 37 Officers of the NYPD who died on 9/11. What originally began as a tribute to Firefighter Christopher Santora has grown, thanks to the insistence of Chris's parents, FDNY Chief Al Santora and Maureen. They refused a single monument, demanding one that would recognize the sacrifice by all First Responders.

St. Michael's resolved at the conclusion of the 2006 Memorial Service to complete what we gratefully accepted as our moral obligation to dedicate this year a Memorial to the 23 Officers of the NYPD. Due to the complexity of the Department it was an arduous undertaking. Thanks to the participation of many what was promised became a reality.

Several hundred Officers of the NYPD joined the rank and file of the FDNY and PAPD and the families of the fallen. Prayers were offered by The Rev. Canon George Brandt, leader of St. Michael's Church and Cemetery, Chaplain Monsignor Robert J. Romano, NYPD Deputy Chief, and the Rev. Apostolos Koufalakis, Dean of St. Demetrios of Astoria.

Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, was joined by Inspector Kenneth Honig and commanding officers of the PAPD, and Stephen Humensky, Queens Trustee of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, in remembering those we came to honor. Each spoke of the continued dedication to the families who would never see their loved ones again. Congressmember Joseph Crowley, who personally donated to the NYPD memorial and who lost his cousin; FDNY Battalion Chief John Moran, led elected officials acknowledging the debt owed all First Responders.

The question in the minds of the general public is whether under like circumstances of 9/11 we could count on First Responders. That is a doubt only in the minds of those who have not sworn a duty to protect and defend. Each uniformed speaker, with eloquence supported by the certainty of having served and having survived the terror of the Towers and the daily aftermath, acknowledged that First Responders would heed the call to save others.

There are those who question the relevancy of any memorial service six years past the attacks. Whenever a national holiday occurs, many of these same individuals proudly wave the American flag, relishing stories of heroism and duty to the nation. The disconnect is remarkable. Americans are proud to remember the heroism of our citizens. Who among us would trade their life to save others?

The victims of the 9/11 attacks had the misfortune of being within the Towers, on the planes and at work at the Pentagon. They bore the price tag of simply being Americans. The hatred that caused their deaths must be destroyed. Their families mourn for them daily and will do so all the days of their lives. No amount of money could ever fill the black hole in their souls. We must mourn with them. As citizens, it is our duty.

The First Responders individually were confronted with choices. They marched into the raging inferno, willing to die to save others and to support their comrades. To these people, their families, and those who follow them by wearing a uniform daily, we have a moral obligation that will never end.

Ed Horn is Director of Community Relations for St. Michael's Cemetery, 72-02 Astoria Blvd., East Elmhurst.