Phil Alvarez was a Suffolk County Police detective on 9/11. His brother Luis, an NYPD detective, spent months at Ground Zero and ultimately died in 2019 from a related illness. The following Q&A with Alvarez is part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories of those most closely involved with the rescue and recovery efforts, which formally came to an end 20 years ago this coming Monday. 

Ahead of our May 30th commemoration, Alvarez will speak as a panelist at our special public program, "Advocacy and Activism," alongside fellow first responder Rob Serra and film director Bridget Gormley, whose firefighter father also succumbed to 9/11-related illness.

Where were you on 9/11? 
I was a Suffolk County Police Detective, living on Long Island, watching the terror unfold on television.  
 
What role did you and/or your family member play in the rescue, recovery, and relief efforts? 
My brother, NYPD Detective Luis (Lou) Alvarez, and his unit were mobilized to Ground Zero for search, rescue, and recovery. Many including Lou were there for three months or more.  

He was just 8 years old when his father and uncle both died in the line of duty on 9/11. Now, 23-year-old Joseph Vigiano Jr. has followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming an NYPD officer.

A former Marine, Vigiano was one of 600 recruits recently sworn in at a police academy in Queens, according to the New York Daily News.

"I’ve been waiting for this all my life," Vigiano told the Daily News. "As a kid I always wanted to be a police officer or in the military and now I get to do both."

His father, NYPD Detective Joseph Vigiano, was killed attempting to rescue those trapped in the World Trade Center. His uncle, John Vigiano Jr., was a third-generation FDNY firefighter and was also killed responding to the towers.

"My father truly did love his job and if I could just experience a fraction of that, it’ll be all worth it," Vigiano told reporters.

Watch the animated short by StoryCorps of John Vigiano Sr., a retired FDNY firefighter, as he reminisces about his sons John Vigiano Jr. and Joseph Vigiano.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

The Lens: Capturing Life and Events at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum is a photography series devoted to documenting moments big and small that unfold at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

The View: In honor of National Police Week, NYPD and PAPD officers placed blue roses in the names of their fallen comrades at the 9/11 Memorial on Friday, May 13. On 9/11, 23 NYPD officers and 37 PAPD officers were killed.  By 9/11 Memorial Staff

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton joined family members of 9/11 first responders at a luncheon on Feb. 1 to commemorate the extension of the Zadroga Act, according to the New York Daily News.

One of the family members in attendance was Jillian Suarez, daughter of Officer Ramon Suarez, who is depicted in a portrait helping a survivor on 9/11 shortly before he was killed. Jillian Suarez told the Daily News that the portrait of her father touched her heart, "to see how they did the painting, from his chin to every part of his body and the way they captured every moment, including the background."

The portraits were previously exhibited in the Senate Rotunda in Washington D.C. and are now on display inside NYPD Headquarters at 1 Police Plaza.

By Christine Murphy, 9/11 Memorial Administration/Researcher

Steve Steo, an NYPD Detective with the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, New York, reported to ground zero on Sept. 12, 2001 to aid in the search and rescue of survivors after the 9/11 attacks. Recently, the 9/11 Memorial Museum acquired an artifact that speaks to Steo’s time at ground zero and calls to memory the strange somberness of the holiday season that year.

Steo’s efforts during the first days of the response were personally driven. His good friend, Joseph Vigiano, a detective with NYPD Emergency Services Squad 2, was among the first responders reported missing. Vigiano’s older brother, FDNY Firefighter John Vigiano was also reported missing.

After both brothers were confirmed dead, Steo never relented in his effort to locate them during his six-month tenure on recovery detail.

On the evening of Sept. 18, Steo rappelled into a deep void in hopes of locating his friends. As he worked his way out of the fallen steel, a glittering object caught his eye. This turned out to be a relatively intact souvenir Christmas ornament which was likely once sold in the gift shop at the World Trade Center’s South Tower Observatory.

The ornament depicts a gilded World Trade Center complex set against a gold, star-flecked, deep blue sky, with the Statue of Liberty and Hudson River in the foreground. The reverse side is punctuated by bold, red, letters that read, “Peace on Earth.”

Many years later, Steo met with the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s Associate Curator Alexandra Drakakis and presented the ornament to the museum in memory of his fallen friend, Joseph Vigiano.

By Jenny Pachucki, 9/11 Memorial Content Strategist

The 9/11 Memorial held a tribute Thursday to honor Randolph Holder, a 33-year-old New York City police officer who was fatally shot in the line of duty in an East Harlem neighborhood. Dozens of officers from the New York City Police Department and Port Authority Police Department gathered at the South Pool of the 9/11 Memorial, where the names of the 23 NYPD members who were killed on 9/11 are etched in the bronze parapets.

Following a moment of silence, attending officers and 9/11 Memorial staff placed white and yellow flowers on the names.

“We at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum will always share a heartfelt connection with the NYPD and PAPD, and it’s an honor to do our part in remembering their service,” 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said. “This memorial reminds us that officers came here on 9/11 and gave their lives to save others. But it’s important to also remember that brave men and women like officer Holder continue to get up every single day and put their lives on the line for the people of New York.”

Holder, who was killed Tuesday, was inspired to join the NYPD by his father and grandfather, who both served as police officers in Guyana, according to the New York Times. 

This was the second tribute held for a fallen officer at the 9/11 Memorial. In 2014, officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were honored following an ambush that took the lives of both men.

By Kaylee Skaar, 9/11 Memorial Communications Manager

The Lens: Capturing Life and Events at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum is a photography series devoted to documenting moments big and small that unfold at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

The View: Family members create an etching of an NYPD ESU responder’s name on the South Pool of the 9/11 Memorial on September 11, 2015. The 9/11 Memorial hosted the 14th anniversary commemoration ceremony for the families of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks.  

 By 9/11 Memorial Staff

From May 28 through May 30, 2015, the 9/11 Memorial Museum will hold events to honor those who participated in rescue and recovery at the World Trade Center and Pentagon after September 11, 2001.

May 28, 2002 marked the date that construction workers cut down the “Last Column,” the final standing steel column of the World Trade Center. On May 30, 2002, the column was ceremonially removed from the site in a public event.

On Thursday, May 28, 2015 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., an expert panel, including a former NYPD detective who responded on 9/11 and a pulmonary specialist, will explore illnesses linked to WTC exposure and efforts to treat and compensate those affected. The event is free with Museum admission, but space is limited. Tickets can be reserved here.

For rescue and recovery workers, the Museum will extend its hours on May 28 for a special evening of tribute and remembrance in Foundation Hall. On May 30, StoryCorps, the national oral history initiative, is hosting a recording day at the Museum, during which rescue and recovery workers can discuss their experiences at the attack sites following 9/11. Recording times must be scheduled in advance, and space is limited. For more information, contact Anthony Gardner.

Rescue and recovery workers are welcome to visit the Museum from May 28 through May 30 with complimentary admission for two guests. Registration is required for complimentary admission.

More information is available here.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

The 9/11 Memorial honored slain NYPD Officer Brian Moore in a ceremony held Tuesday afternoon on the Memorial plaza.

Given the Memorial’s deep connection with first responders and our focus on recognizing the sacrifices they make to protect citizens, Memorial staff joined members of the NYPD and PAPD, gathering at the NYPD section on the south side of the South Pool.

After a short speech from 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels, staff members and first responders placed flowers on the section of the memorial where the names of NYPD officers who died on 9/11 are located.

By Jordan Friedman, 9/11 Memorial Research and Digital Projects Associate

Just as the 9/11 Memorial Museum honors the courageous efforts of the first responders to the terrorist attacks, a 10-year-old girl from Texas has expressed her appreciation for NYPD officers by sending them 200 handmade thank you cards, the New York Daily News reports.

Savannah Solis sent the cards following the Dec. 20, 2014 murders of NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

“I just want to say thank you for taking care of us every day,” Savannah wrote in one of the cards. “You are my hero and you’re brave too. Keep watching out for us.”

Fourth-grader Savannah Solis arrived in New York on Sunday, where she will visit the 41st and 84th Precinct stationhouses.

You can read about her visit to New York in the Daily News.

By Jordan Friedman, 9/11 Memorial Research and Digital Projects Associate