Yesterday’s ceremony honoring the victims of the September 11 attack came during another harrowing milestone regarding that fateful day.
The New York City Fire Department added 32 names to the World Trade Center Memorial Wall last week. Those members had succumbed to illnesses related to their work and rescue operations following the attack.
The addition of these 32 names means that the number of victims who have died due to illnesses contracted in 2001 now outnumbers the number of victims on the day of the attack.
FDNY says that 343 of its members perished during the day of the attacks. As of yesterday, 377 department members have lost their lives from related illnesses. Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker acknowledged those who have succumbed to these illnesses during a hearing on the matter last week.
Since the attack, many of those at or near Ground Zero have been diagnosed with diseases, including cancer, as a result of exposure to toxic dust during rescue and first-response operations.
Yesterday’s ceremony brought New Yorkers together to honor all of the fallen heroes who sacrificed so much on that day. They read the names of those whose lives were taken and held multiple moments of silence out of respect.
As we reported yesterday, some political officials, including former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden, attended the event and offered their condolences to families. However, not every family was thrilled with President Biden, who the day before remarked on his attendance at the event by saying he’d be “doing 9/11”.
Biden’s quip did not sit well with some of the families, and one of the presenters during the ceremony even called him out on it.
Biden was later present at a site in Pennsylvania also in honor of the victims of the 9/11 attack.