47 more on wall
Cops who died of 9/11 illness added to memorial
The names of nearly 50 police officers who died from a 9/11 illness were added to the NYPD’s memorial wall Friday as Police Commissioner James O’Neill made a plea to keep a federal fund that helps those suffering for their time at Ground Zero 17 years ago.
An NYPD chief, two captains, four lieutenants, 14 detectives and 21 police officers were among the 47 officers remembered during the police memorial day ceremony at police headquarters.
“The tragedy of September 11th, 2001, has not ended for us, for our families, or four our great city, O’Neill said, adding that all of the cops had died of a 9/11 illness over the last two years.
“Lower Manhattan may be rebuilt, and the World Trade Center site may again be a tourist attraction, but the names in this hall tell us, every day, that we can never take what we have for granted,” O’Neill said. “Because we know that we’ll all be back here next year, and the year after that, and on and on, filling up those walls as our losses from September 11th continue to mount, and our police families continue to pay the highest price.”
Each name read off during the ceremony held a story of sacrifice and devotion to the city, Mayor de Blasio said.
The NYPD’s Hall of Heroes at 1 Police Plaza was filled with relatives of the fallen. Some wept openly as they looked at the bronze plates containing the names of their loved ones.
“There was a lot of emotion seeing them honor my mom for the 20 years she served,” said Police Officer Krystle Kingston, as she and her sister, Officer Victoria Bohanan celebrated their mother, retired Officer Marie Patterson-Bohanan. “I remember running through 1 Police Plaza as a child and now here we are seeing her name on the wall. It was very moving.”
Patterson-Bohanan responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11 and remained at Ground Zero for nearly nine months as she joined in the recovery efforts. She retired from the department in 2003.
In 2014, she was diagnosed with colon cancer attributed to her time on the pile. After fighting valiantly, she succumbed to the illness in August 2017.
“She never regretted [her time at Ground Zero],” Kingston said. “She would always say it was rewarding to recover something that belonged to a 9/11 victim. Even if she found something as small as a ring or a piece of one’s eyeglasses, she felt rewarded because she helped recover something for someone’s family.”
Even after she got sick — more than 12 years after the terror attacks — she never complained.
“She coined a phrase at the hospital: ‘All is well,’” Kingston remembered. “That phrase has so many meanings to our family. No matter how tough the situations work out, everything really is well. It was part of her faith that she gave to us and we carry that proudly.”
O’Neill on Friday y also asked that the federal government continue to fund the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, which is quickly running out of money.
The federal government has already paid out $5 billion of its $7.3 billion fund as it nears its 2020 expiration date. In February, the fund compensated for the expected shortfall by amending its award payouts so those currently applying could receive less than those who applied a year ago for the same illness.
A bipartisan push is underway in Washington to fully fund and extend the VCF, which provides payouts to those stricken with a 9/11 illness to help offset living and medical expenses.