🕊️🇺🇸 PORT AUTHORITY DEDICATES NEW LIBERTY PARK MEMORIAL HONORING 1993 & 9/11 VICTIMS
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey dedicated a new memorial at Liberty Park in Jersey City. The site honors 88 employees killed in the 1993 and 2001 terrorist attacks, as well as those who fell ill during recovery efforts.
📍 JERSEY CITY, NJ / NEW YORK, NY — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has dedicated a new memorial at Liberty Park honoring agency employees who lost their lives in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The memorial pays tribute to four Port Authority employees killed in the 1993 bombing and 84 employees who died during the 9/11 attacks.
Among those honored are 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department, representing the largest loss of life suffered by a U.S. police force in a single event.
🕯️ REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED
The memorial also recognizes Port Authority employees who became sick or died after working on the extensive recovery and cleanup efforts following the September 11 attacks.
Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said the memorial provides employees, families and friends with a dedicated place to remember those who made sacrifices and demonstrated acts of bravery and selflessness.
💙 1993 WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBING
On February 26, 1993, terrorists detonated a bomb in an underground garage beneath the World Trade Center.
Among the four Port Authority employees killed was Stephen Knapp, the agency's chief maintenance supervisor. Another victim was Monica Rodriguez Smith, who was scheduled to begin maternity leave the following day.
🇺🇸 THE 9/11 ATTACKS
On September 11, 2001, Port Authority Police Officer Donald James McIntyre was among those killed when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. His daughter, Caitlyn, was only five years old at the time.
The memorial also honors the bravery of those who helped others escape.
One survivor, Lillian Valenti, recalled being inside the World Trade Center during both attacks. During the 2001 attack, she encountered Port Authority Police Officer Tom Gorman near a PATH escalator. Valenti said Gorman prevented her from going upstairs and helped push her toward safety. Gorman was among the 37 Port Authority police officers killed that day.
🕊️ A MEMORIAL INSPIRED BY HISTORY
The memorial's design draws inspiration from a fountain that once stood on the World Trade Center plaza following the 1993 bombing. That original memorial was destroyed during the September 11 attacks.
The new memorial was commissioned by the World Trade Center Memorial Fund, an organization that raises money for college scholarships in honor of people killed on September 11.
The Liberty Park memorial now serves as a permanent place of remembrance for the Port Authority employees who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as those who later lost their health while serving in the aftermath.
🇺🇸 We remember. We honor. We will never forget.
📰 Garden State News Network Garden State's go-to source for what's happening NOW.