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 Captain Patrick
Brown
2 days after the emotional 1 year anniversary of
9-11, a walkway was dedicated to Patrick Brown,
Captain of Fire Dept. Ladder 3 on East 13th St, who
had been killed in the attack. I didn't know him, I
was invited by a friend who did. He was one of the
most decorated men in the departments history, and
there are countless stories of his heroic
acts.
When the north
tower collapsed, he is reported to have been on the
36th floor where he'd stopped to assist some
seriously burned victims, despite hearing orders to
evacuate. It was months before his remains were
recovered, long after his memorial service at St.
Patricks Cathedral.
He had lived in
the Stuyvesant town apartments overlooking the East
River, and had loved sitting on a park bench along
the walkway at the rivers edge, where he often read
the paper & sipped his morning coffee. The
walkway dedication was attended by Fire Dept
officials, friends & family.
The water that
day was calm & sparking in the bright sun of a
cloudless blue sky. The same way it must have been
sparkling one year earlier, on that equally
beautiful 9-11 morning.
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