Remembering the Law Enforcement Heroes Lost on 9-11

In observance of the 13th anniversary of the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund held a ceremony Thursday morning at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, to remember the 72 peace officers who were killed in the line of duty during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Memorial Fund Chairman & CEO Craig W. Floyd was joined by United States Attorney General Eric Holder and delivered brief remarks introducing the reading of the 72 fallen officers’ names aloud, as the crowd of Memorial Fund staff, peace officers, supporters, and friends gathered to honor the fallen officer’s service and sacrifice.

When all the names had been read aloud, Mr. Floyd was joined by Attorney General Holder and members of the Metropolitan DC Police Department Honor Guard to place a wreath near where the fallen officers’ names are engraved, Panels 9-22 of the Memorial’s West Wall.

“With the passage of time, the horrific events of 9/11 seem to have faded a bit from our collective consciousness,” said Mr. Floyd. “But the service and sacrifice of the 72 courageous law enforcement heroes, who put their lives on the line that day for the safety and protection of others, will always be remembered at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial,” he said.

Among the 72 peace officers who made the ultimate sacrifice that day were 37 sworn members of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, making the department experience the most fatalities ever received during a single day in U.S. History. Also among those killed at the World Trade Center that tragic day include 23 members of the New York City Police Department, five members of the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance, three members of the New York State Office of Court Administration; a special agent with the FBI, a master special officer with the U.S. Secret Service, and a New York City fire marshal who had sworn law enforcement powers. 

In addition, Refuge Manager Richard Guadagno was among the passengers who died in Pennsylvania while fighting to regain control of Flight 93 from the terrorists. Refuge Manager Guadagno was a sworn officer with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The names of all 72 officers killed on 9/11 can be found on the Memorial Fund website, www.LawMemorial.org/September11th. The names of more than 20,000 officers who have died in the line of duty throughout U.S. history—since the earliest known officer fatality in 1791—are engraved on the Memorial.