Key Takeaways
- The NYPD rededicated a refurbished memorial wall at Floyd Bennett Field honoring 45 Emergency Service Unit members killed in the line of duty, including 14 who died on September 11.
- The memorial features photographs and nameplates for each fallen officer, recognizes members who later died from 9/11-related illnesses, and displays John D’Allara’s service weapon recovered from Ground Zero.
- Commissioner Jessica Tisch called ESU officers “the tip of the NYPD’s spear,” noting that they entered the damaged towers to rescue civilians and fellow first responders.
The NYPD is approaching the 25th anniversary of September 11 with a renewed tribute to the Emergency Service Unit officers who ran into the World Trade Center to save lives. Unveiled at the unit’s training facility at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, the refurbished memorial wall honors 45 ESU members lost in the line of duty, including the 14 killed during the attacks.
Their deaths marked a devastating chapter in the history of one of the department’s most highly trained commands. ESU lost 14 officers on September 11—nearly as many as the unit had lost during the previous 70 years combined. Their deaths accounted for most of the 23 NYPD officers killed that day.
The memorial puts individual faces back at the center of that history. Photographs and nameplates recognize every fallen ESU member, while officers who later died from illnesses linked to the rescue and recovery operation are also remembered.
One display holds the service weapon of Police Officer John D’Allara, which was recovered from the wreckage at Ground Zero after his death.
D’Allara’s widow, Carol D’Allara, joined relatives and department members for the rededication. “The ceremony was beautifully done,” she told the New York Post. “It was an honorable tribute to my husband and the other heroes who were honored today.”
Several children of officers lost on September 11 have since entered law enforcement themselves.
The 14 ESU members killed in the attacks were Sgts. John G. Coughlin, Michael S. Curtin and Rodney C. Gillis; Det. Joseph V. Vigiano; and Police Officers Santos Valentin Jr., Tommy Langone, John D’Allara, Vincent G. Danz, Jerome M. Dominguez, Stephen P. Driscoll, Ronald P. Kloepfer, Paul Talty, Walter E. Weaver and Brian McDonnell.
Their work placed them where the danger was greatest: inside damaged buildings, helping trapped civilians and other first responders escape.
That was the assignment ESU had spent decades preparing to handle. Established in 1930, the round-the-clock command operates as both a tactical force and an urban rescue team. Its officers respond to barricaded suspects and hostage situations, but they are also trained in building collapses, water rescues, hazardous materials, vehicle extractions, and other emergencies that require equipment and expertise beyond what is available to patrol officers.
“On 9/11, when thousands of lives were at risk, ESU officers were the tip of the NYPD’s spear,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at the ceremony. “They fought to get as many people out of those buildings as possible—while they themselves ran in.”
