Somber Ceremony Marks 25th Anniversary of 9-11 at FDNY Museum

A somber wreath-laying ceremony was held at the FDNY Museum on the morning of September 11, in order to mark the 25th anniversary of 9-11.

A total of 2,753 people died in New York City that day after hijackers associated with al Qaeda flew airliners into both towers of the World Trade Center, including 343 firefighters killed in the line of duty.

Hundreds more have since died due to illnesses contracted during 9-11. An additional 224 people were killed in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania due to related plane hijackings.

Men in uniform were joined by politicians—including City Council Speaker Julie Menin, City Comptroller Mark Levine, New York Attorney General Letititia James, City Council Member Christopher Marte, City Council Member Grace Lee—for the anniversary proceedings. Out of respect for those killed on 9/11 and their families, none of these officials spoke.

Members of the French firefighting force (“sapieurs-pompiers”), as well as a number of Green Berets, lingered under FDNY tents in the shade outside the museum. Numerous local residents hung over the barricades put up on Spring Street, observing the assembled firefighters and the building’s facade, which used to house Engine Company No. 30.

After the singing of the National Anthem, FDNY Chaplain Monsignor Marc Filacchione offered an opening prayer for the ceremony, in which he described 9/11 as the “darkest of mornings.”

“Our hearts are heavy with the permanence of our loss, yet at the same time we are filled with great awe of the courage that answered the call,” he said. “Twenty-five years have passed, but the memory of the 343 firefighters who climbed into that building—and did not return—remain as bright and unyielding as the dawn.”

John Esposito, the FDNY Chief of Department, echoed Fillachchione during his remarks. “Hundreds of our members ran toward the World Trade Center with one mission: to save lives. They understood the danger, and 343 of them never came home,” he said.

“They were all heroes, and each of them were loved as brothers, sons, fathers, uncles, and friends,” Esposito added. “We gather not only to mourn their loss, but to remember why they served, and what their service means to us today.”

Dominick R. DeRubbio, who serves as the executive director of the recently-reopened museum, followed Esposito. He began by noting that his uncle David DeRubbio, an FDNY member, died on 9/11 during rescue operations at the WTC’s South Tower.

DeRubbio then described how the severe grief he experienced in the following months was joined by something else, which he described as “absolutely beautiful”—the feeling of watching complete strangers “come together” to help each other survive, emotionally and otherwise, in the aftermath of the attacks.

“It was true unconditional love,” he said.

After a wreath was gently laid nearby not long thereafter, the anniversary was marked in a fresh way, with the unveiling of a memorial bell. Forged in the official foundry of the Vatican and flown in from Italy, it was unveiled to gasps from the audience, before being blessed and rung in the traditional “5-5-5” manner (20 chimes) to commemorate FDNY members killed due to 9-11 related illnesses.

An additional strike, which was allowed to linger in the air, was provided in solidarity with all the other service members from other city agencies who perished that day.