Truck Illustrates Courage, Tragedy of First Responders on 9/11

The heavily damaged truck of FDNY Ladder Company 3 stands in the Museum’s Foundation Hall. The front of the truck is completely gone and much of what remains is twisted hunks of metal.
The truck of FDNY Ladder Company 3 is currently located in the 9/11 Museum. (Photo: Amy Dreher)

Members of FDNY Ladder Company 3, located in Manhattan’s East Village, bravely responded to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Led by decorated Captain Patrick “Paddy” John Brown, Ladder Company 3 asked a dispatcher to deploy its members to the disaster. Eleven of them, many of whom had just gone off duty after finishing their overnight shifts, entered the North Tower.

The rear mount aerial truck was parked on West Street near Vesey Street. When the North Tower collapsed, the truck was damaged beyond repair, with its entire front cab destroyed.

A bumper and back door panel were later removed from the rig and placed on display as a memorial in Ladder Company 3’s quarters on East 13th Street in Manhattan. The inscription "Jeff We Will Not Forget You!" was painted on the panel by a firefighter related to Jeffrey John Giordano, one of the 11 Ladder Company 3 members who perished that day.

By Deena Farrell, 9/11 Memorial Communications Intern

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Museum Director Alice Greenwald holds up a flag during the Museum’s opening ceremony in May 2014.

9/11 Memorial Museum Director Alice Greenwald will give a talk at the Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning in Chestertown, Md. on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

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