On the 8th Anniversary of the Terrorist Attacks, the Law Enforcement Heroes of 9/11 Are Remembered

Leonard W. Hatton … Ronald P. Bucca … John G. Coughlin … Michael Curtin … John D’Allara … Vincent G. Danz … Jerome M. Dominguez … Stephen P. Driscoll ... Mark Ellis … Robert Fazio … Rodney C. Gillis … Ronald Kloepfer

It remains the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history: 72 peace officers killed in the line of duty during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Seventy-one of those officers died at the World Trade Center. One officer—Richard Guadagno, a sworn refuge manager with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service—was among the passengers who died in Pennsylvania while fighting to regain control of Flight 93 from the terrorists.



Thomas Langone … James Leahy … Brian G. McDonnell … John William Perry … Glen Pettit … Claude Richards … Timothy Roy … Moira Smith … Ramon Suarez … Paul Talty … Santos Valentin Jr. … Joseph Vincent Vigiano

Thirty-seven members of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Force were killed on 9/11, by far the most fatalities suffered by a single law enforcement agency in one day in U.S. history. Among those heroes was the agency’s Superintendent, Fred Morrone. He was in his office in Jersey City on the morning of September 11th when the hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center. As head of the force, he certainly could have set up a command post at a safe distance from the action from which to direct the rescue effort. But that wasn’t Fred Morrone. Instead, he rushed to lower Manhattan and raced up the stairs of one of the burning towers, reassuring terrified victims coming down that they would be OK. When the tower collapsed, Fred Morrone’s distinguished, 38-year career of helping others came to an end.

Walter Weaver … Thomas E. Jurgens … William Harry Thompson … Mitchel Scott Wallace … Clyde Frazier Jr. … Charles M. Mills … Richard R. Moore … Salvatore Papasso … William H. Pohlmann … Christopher C. Amoroso … Maurice Vincent Barry … Liam Callahan

On Friday morning – the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attacks – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder joined NLEOMF Chairman and CEO Craig Floyd, along with Board members and staff, at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial to honor and remember the 72 officers who died on 9/11 and whose names are engraved on the Memorial. “For me, as it is for so many Americans, today is also personal,” said the Attorney General. “My brother William is a retired Port Authority police officer. He knew people who died that day. And my family and I will always be reminded of the courage his colleagues demonstrated, and the price so many of them paid in service to their country.” (Read Attorney General Holder's prepared remarks.) Under steady rain and with flags at half staff behind him, the Attorney General began the reading aloud of the names of the 72 fallen officers. He then helped to place a wreath and commemorative poster along the Memorial’s west wall, where those names are engraved. He paused and reflected, and tenderly touched the wreath.

Robert D. Cirri Sr. … Clinton Davis Sr. … Donald A. Foreman … Gregg John Froehner … Thomas Edward Gorman … Uhuru Gonja Houston … George G. Howard … Stephen Huczko Jr. … Anthony P. Infante Jr. … Paul W. Jurgens … Robert M. Kaulfers … Paul Laszczynski

In general, names are added each year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in random order. But in the spring of 2002, when it came time to engrave the names of the fallen officers from 2001, the NLEOMF decided to make an exception. The 72 heroes of 9/11 would be engraved together, in a continuous string along Line 23 of the Memorial’s west wall. It took 14 panels – 9-West through 22-West – to accommodate all of the names.

David P. Lemagne … John J. Lennon … J.D. Levi … James F. Lynch … Kathy N. Mazza … Donald J. McIntyre … Walter Arthur McNeil … Fred V. Morrone … Joseph M. Navas ... James A. Nelson … Alfonse J. Niedermeyer III … James W. Parham

9/11 was a heroic, yet deadly, day for many law enforcement agencies – local, state and federal. In addition to the 37 fallen heroes of the Port Authority Police Force, the New York City Police Department lost 23 members; the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance, five; and the New York State Office of Court Administration, three. The FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lost one member each. And a New York City fire marshal who had sworn law enforcement powers perished at Ground Zero and is among the 72 law enforcement heroes who died that day.

Dominick Pezzulo … Bruce A. Reynolds … Antonio Jose Rodrigues … Richard Rodriguez … James A. Romito … John P. Skala … Walwyn W. Stuart Jr. … Kenneth F. Tietjen … Nathaniel Webb … Michael T. Wholey … Richard Jerry Guadagno … Craig James Miller

Craig Floyd reflected on his journey to Ground Zero just days after the attacks and recalled the tremendous outpouring of support for law enforcement that he witnessed that day. He reminded everyone that while 9/11 was an extreme example of law enforcement service and sacrifice, it was not the only example by any stretch of the imagination. “Law enforcement officers were putting their lives on the line for the safety and protection of others long before Nine Eleven, and they continue to do so today in communities across America.” (Read Craig's reflections on 9/11.)