09/11/2026
Today, we remember the 2,977 victims who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, 25 years ago today.
We honor the first responders who ran toward danger to help others. Among them were 343 FDNY firefighters and paramedics, 23 NYPD officers, and 37 Port Authority Police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving others.
This NYT article from days after the attack shows the 343 firefighters who passed away that morning rushing in to help.
Journalist Dean E. Murphy begins: "Listen to the survivors who escaped down the staircases of the doomed World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, and expect to be overwhelmed by the aching appreciation for the faces on these pages.
For thousands of horrified office workers who fled the terrorist attacks, the most remarkable sight during their descent was the wave of determined firefighters advancing toward the burning sky.
One fireman stopped to take a breath, and we looked each other in the eye,” said Louis G. Lesce, who was on his way down from the 85th floor of 1 World Trade Center, the first tower hit. “he was going to a place where I was darn well trying to get out of. I looked at him thinking, “What are you doing this for?” He looked at me like he knew very well. ‘This is my job.’”
Their courage, sacrifice, and dedication will never be forgotten.
