FDNY Bears the Heaviest Loss as 9/11 Marks 25 Years
On the 25th anniversary of the attacks, the FDNY remembers losing 343 firefighters, the largest single-day casualty among all agencies.
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, the FDNY reflects on its tragic toll of 343 firefighters and staff killed while trying to evacuate the towers, the highest single-day loss of any organization. Father Mychal Judge, the department’s chaplain, became the first officially recorded victim when he was struck by debris after the South Tower collapsed. A haunting photograph shows his body being carried by firefighters Christian Waugh and Zachary Vause, NYPD Lt. William Cosgrove, civilian John Maguire, and FDNY EMT Kevin Allen.
More than 400 funerals and memorial services were conducted for the fallen, often without bodies, prompting the Catholic Church to allow memorials in lieu of traditional rites. Former members like Brian Davan and author Brian McDonald describe how the tragedy reshaped the FDNY’s identity, fostering a lasting sense of unity and remembrance among its ranks.
How this story developed
- Sep 7 Trump reiterates disputed 9/11 rescue claim as anniversary approaches
- Sep 8 Trump added the Medal of Freedom award for Welles Crowther and the cutter‑naming announcement to the memorial event.
- Sep 10 The city is preparing its traditional memorial service at the former World Trade Center site, which normally includes six silent pauses for key moments of the attacks. This year a seventh pause will be added to honor the thousands who succumbed to illnesses linked to the disaster long after the event. Officials note that many first-responders and survivors continue to suffer health problems, and a long-term health program was created in 2011 to provide ongoing care. Retired police lieutenant Thomas Wilson, who worked at Ground Zero, is among those whose cancers have been attributed to the attacks.
- Sep 11 The ceremony will feature a seventh silent moment for the first time.
- Sep 11 Analyst David Rothkopf labeled Trump’s 9/11 rescue claim a desperate hero myth.
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