Another 9/11 question, not so controversial this time..**EDITED** Our 9/11 Memorial

Here is a tribute to my friend from college's wife:
Kristi Irvine Ryan

Life of Giving: Sept. 11 Victim Helped Poor on the Sly

N E W Y O R K, Dec. 24 — Brendan Ryan and Kristy Irvine seemed to have a fairy tale life in the making.

Soul mates since the age of 12, they had literally grown up together in Huntington, Long Island. Somehow they knew even at a young age that they were meant for each other. Ryan, 30, remembers admiring Irvine even when he was just a boy.
'Her beauty her serenity, the way that the shoe just fit the foot,' Ryan said. In high school, Kristy's older sister saw something between the two after their prom.

'I thought, 'Wow what a gorgeous couple' ... it just took my breath away,' her sister, Kerry Irvine told Good Morning America.

A Love Story

In high school, Ryan and Irvine stuck to being just friends, with sort of a 'Sam and Diane from Cheers relationship,' Ryan said.

In college, though, Irvine used to say 'I'm going to marry Brendan Ryan,' her friend Meredith O'Neal Hassett said. 'And I was like 'but you're not even dating him.' She was like 'I just know ... I know I am'.'

She was right. When it was time to begin adult life, Ryan and Irvine both realized that they should be together. Last June, they got married in storybook fashion. Hassett recalls that when the wrong flowers arrived on her wedding day, Irvine was characteristically gracious about the mistake.

'She was like 'oh well, I like these ones better',' Hassett said. 'And what bride could really be like that?'

The couple's happily ever after lasted only three months and one day. Kristy Irvine Ryan worked as an equities trader with Sandler O'Neill & Partners on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center.

Chris Francescani, a Good Morning America producer and friend of the couple, said it is hard to watch his friend Ryan suffer.

'It's devastating to watch someone you know so well hurt so much and carry such a heavy burden,' he said. 'He loves Kristy. He absolutely loves Kristy ... maybe now more than ever.'

On the morning of Sept. 11, Kristy called her husband and said that the fire from the first tower was contained and her building, tower two, was safe. When the second plane hit, they were still on the phone.

'I heard her voice. and I just said 'I love you' and then the phone went out,' Ryan said.

Kristy is the fourth of five girls in her family. One of her sisters who also lives in New York waited in vain for her sister to emerge from the burning office tower.

'I waited on Fifth Avenue,' her older sister, Kerry Irvine, said. 'And I waited for her to come walking up the street with ashes on her or something, and my hope got lower and lower.'

The struggle to deal with her loss continues.

'I feel really lost without her and really weak and getting out of bed is a big deal,' she said. 'I want to feel strong and try to pretend it for other people.'

Her friend, Meredith Hassett, said Irvine's spirit will help her get through the tragedy.

'I will survive this and I will live through this and someday be happy again because of her,' Hassett said.

A Legacy of Charity

Hassett, along with Brendan Ryan and Kerry Irvine, are remembering because of an event that captured the very essence of her spirit, and changed all four of them forever.

Just before Christmas time three years ago, Hassett was teaching elementary school in Harlem and was particularly concerned about a student and his struggling single mother, Belquiz Estrill.

They had no money for furniture, or even pots and pans, let alone gifts. It wasn't going to be a merry Christmas.

Hassett told the mother that all she had to do was write a letter indicating what the family needed, and that she would get it to a 'bank charity' that she knew of.

Banking on Friendship

The only 'charity' she was really counting on was the goodwill of her friends, and her best friend Kristy was the first one she called. Kristy was excited about the ruse, and soon enlisted the help of Ryan and her sister, Kerry.

The four of them bought presents and the morning before Christmas Eve, they brought a car full of gifts to Estrill and her son. Hassett hid as the gifts were delivered, to keep up the 'bank charity' ruse. Meanwhile, the other three knocked on the door, and posed as bank representatives as they gave Estrill their armloads of gifts.

'My son had a great smile on his face when he saw all of the gifts, a lot of stuff came to my house,' Estrill recalled.

The group of friends felt great about what they had done, and Kristy said that they should continue doing it.

Three years later, the charity, Secret Smiles (www.secretsmiles.org) has helped 50 New York families. Now, it will include families who were impacted by the Sept. 11 attacks. Her friends, and her family, know that Kristy would want them to keep giving to others, in her memory.

This is a friend of mine from collage. He was one of the sweetest people I've ever known. Unfortunately, after we graduated, we didn't get to see much of each other and after a while, only kept in touch occasionnaly by email. We would always say we all needed to get together soon. The last time I heard from him was the Christmas before when he told me he had gotten married. And then a short, mass email that he had left his job at an accounting firm to become a firefighter. I just kept thinking, how did this happen...
-----------------------------------------------------------

Just Out of the Academy
Dennis O'Berg never meant to become a firefighter like his father, but after a few years of feeling shackled to his job as an accountant at a big firm, he entered the fire academy. He graduated only a few months ago, and was assigned to a fire house in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Though his salary was lower than in the old job, his new career was more exciting and the hours more reasonable. He was 28, recently married and wanted to start a family on Long Island. 'He was so much more cheerful when he came home,' said his wife, Christine. 'Now he is a hero, but he was a good man back then.'

She has put off a memorial service, hoping that his remains will be found.

Mr. O'Berg's father, Lt. Dennis O'Berg, was also at the disaster site. After the towers fell, he searched for his son, but located only his fire truck, smothered in debris. He decided to retire on that day, after 31 years on the force. -
------------------------------------------------------------

They had a memorial service for him last June and it was so sad, but so amazing all the people there and how many lives he touched.

Oneday you have FM.

tammy... I think you can google any of the victims names...

THANKS Erika
I found his name on the link that you posted and I posted on page 2

A wonderful father and husband, dedicated fire fighter and a fun loving, hilarious, human being...

Billy McGovern


RIP

Ladies....3 years ago, while I was living in California, one of my NY friends (who used to be one of my roommates) 'broke off' our friendship....she always had some emotional problems...but, she and I sometimes got a long like two peas in a pod, and at other times, we were like oil and water. So, I tried my best to tell her I didn't want to lose her friendship. But, if someone wants to avoid your calls, cards, letters and emails from 3,000 miles away...well, it's not hard to do.

I just saw her older brother's name on the 9/11 Memorial website....he was a NYC Firefighter....I am hysterical right now b/c for TWO WHOLE YEARS I did not know he was lost. Right before I moved to CA, this family lost their Mom to cancer. I cannot imagine the pain my friend went through losing her brother, too.

My heart hurts so much right now

Another site:

Remembering The Lost

Our friend & NYFD Micheal Weinberg who was also featured in a sexy fireman's calender


Handsome and well-built, Weinberg modeled and was featured in the fire department's calendar.

John Perry a friend
He was a New York City police officer, a lawyer, an actor, a linguist, an active libertarian, a social worker helping abused children, a philosopher searching for his religion, and a softhearted soul who opened his wallet and his home to near strangers.




My friend Gabriela's pic isn't on

This is so sad and very hard to read without crying
My heart goes out to All
Tomorrow will be a difficult day for all
I am proud to be an AMERICAN

I am so sad too. Always will be on 9/11

I would like to remember John Katsimatides.
While I never met John (spoke to him on the phone a few times), he was my co workers' (who is a very good friend of mine) cousin. He is truly missed




Age: 31

Occupation: financial trader, Cantor Fitzgerald

Location: World Trade Center, Tower 1, floor 104

This is my girlfriend's cousin... she was only 28 at the time, worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. I haven't gotten upset about this at all lately and this morning I'm a hysterical mess...

Monique

ETA: Sergio Villanueva I didn't know him, but FH knew his fiance from when they were young. She sent out a monthly email for the first year, which was more like a journal for her to get out her grief and sorrow than anything else. FH used to send them to me so I could read them...I've saved every one. Her grief over losing the love of her life was so heart wrenching and at the same time inspiring. The love that they shared was so incredible, I honestly believe that FH and I have a fraction of the love and bond that they had then we're lucky.

In Memory or Michael Haub

Engine 54 Ladder 4 Battalion 9

'The Pride of Midtown
Band or Brothers
Never Missed a Performance'

In Memory of:

John Napolitano--FDNY

Peter Brennan--FDNY

Glen Pettit--NYPD Photographer

I went to high school with all of them. May they all rest in peace and may God Bless them and their families.

Also,

Ricardo Quinn-- FDNY

This is my co-worker and friend's brother-in-law.

I just want to add a little story.

Ricardo has a son that is 10 years old. He went to school today and they are having an assembly for the school in rememberence of 9/11. He is the only child in the school that lost a family member, so the princable of the school asked if he would like to say something in memory of his dad. He wrote a poem and called it MY FATHER, MY HERO...
I will get a copy from my friend and be sure to post it for all of you to read.

I would just like to say to all of you how sorry I am for the people that you have lost from this tragedy. My heart is very heavy today. I wish you all a blessed day and hope that you all find the strength to get through this very sad time.

A guy my mom knew.

Dennis M Carey
firefighter, Haz Mat company 1



Dennis M. Carey loved to cook. The family has every issue of Bon Appetit magazine going back 15 years, said his wife, Jean, 'and you couldn't improvise with the ingredients. He had to use exactly what the recipe called for.'

And he worked hard as a New York City firefighter. He joined the Fire Department almost two decades ago, and seven years ago began working with Hazardous Materials Company 1 in Maspeth, Queens. Mr. Carey's body was found, along with those of 15 of his colleagues, at the World Trade Center on Oct. 2.

When he was not on the job, Mr. Carey, 51, loved to travel with his wife and their two children, Nicole, 25, and Dennis Jr., 22. 'We lived,' Jean Carey said a day after his funeral. 'A lot of people who pass on, they say about them that they lived two lives. We lived three. We've done everything with our children, traveled from Maine to Florida, went camping, went to every amusement park you can think of.'

She continued: 'I'm with him since I'm 17, and I'm 48 now. He was a pleaser. He spoiled me. He did for me. We had a great life. I'm so grateful to have it.'

I am so glad this thread has turned into this.

This is Greg Saucedo. Greg played football with my brother in high school. This past weekend, the field on which they played was re-dedicated and named for him....deservedly so.



Gregory Thomas Saucedo
Age-31
Brooklyn NY
Firefighter, FDNY
Still missing, WTC

Gregory Had been with Ladder Co. 5 in Greenwich Village from 1/98 to11/01
He previously served nine years with Engine Co.321 Brooklyn. 6/91 to 1/98

Gregory Graduated from South Shore High School With Aspirations to teach, he earned a bachelor's degree in Education from Brooklyn College.
Gregory did not have to be Firefighter, His cousin Mark told me that Greg was offered a job as a teacher at the same time the job came up for the FDNY. Greg is a true hero from the start, He chose to serve and to save and that is exactly what he did.
I did not know Greg, I was just asked to write the poem below for a friends website, to which I will leave a link. From everything that I have read, and from what his cousin has told me, Greg was an
energenic person, always smiling, always laughing and always making someone else laugh.

As of today Gregs body has not been recovered from the wtc and I would like to ask that everyone pray for the families sake he is recoverd.

News article: Written by Natalie Pompillo
All they have of Gregs is a flash light,a crumpled yellow hunk his name is on in black marker. Recovery workers found it about a month after the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed.
For some Americans the events of Sept 11, and the over whelming emotions they caused are fading into memory. There are debates about when to take down the flags that went on the houses and the cars immediately after the tragedy. Tabloids again are filled with gossip after turning more sober in the months after the attacks. Hollywood is releasing several terrorist films put on hold after the stuff of movies played out in real life.
The underlying message maybe: We have survived, and its time to put this behind us. To families like the Saucedo's, that message means, little.
'It doesn't seem like six months to me. It seems like six weeks, six days,' Christopher Saucedo said.
'We want to make sure Greg is not a second class hero,' Saucedo said.
The four Saucedo brothers--Paul, Christopher, Stephen, Gregory--were born and raised in Brooklyn.
Gregory Saucedo became a firefighter when he was 20. So did three of his closest friends, a group with ties going back to elementry school. After a few years as an electrician, Stephen Saucedo joined the department too. It seemed only natural. When four brothers were growing up, it was always 'Stephen- and -Greg,' one word for the two born 18 months apart. Before Sept 11, the pair had never spent more than a vacation's worth of time apart, of course, they would work together, of course, Greg would be best man at Stephen's wedding last October.
But on Stephen's big day, Christopher Saucedo had to fill in for his little brother, and instead of working with Gregory, Stephen Saucedo and his brother's childhood friends spend their day and nights searching for him.
Unwavering mission.
Survivors said they saw Gregory Saucedo and his close friend, Vinny Giammona, moving quickly up the stairs, getting at least to the 40th floor. Wittnessess saw the pair administer CPR to someone and help carry a woman in a wheel chair down the steps.
Recovery workers at Ground Zero say they're ahead of schedule and should finish their work before summer. To that end Saucedo purchased a new black suit to wear to his brother's funeral. Although services where held for Gregory in late September, the family needs another goodbye, one that brings some part of Gregory home to brooklyn.

This is an article by the wife of our friend who died - Brian Goldberg.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'He Was My Best Friend'
Jan. 26, 2002

They were best friends first, then teen-age sweethearts, and finally, newlyweds learning the routine of married life.

And in those final terrible minutes, when the floors below him were engulfed in flames and the office phones stopped working, and there seemed to be no way out, Brian Goldberg borrowed a cell phone and called his wife, Jodie.

'He said I want you to know, no matter what happens, I love you,' recalled Jodie, who met her husband when she was 17 in 1992.

Brian Frederic Goldberg, 26, had recently earned his MBA from Pace University. He had worked for 19 months at Fiduciary Trust International at Two World Trade Center.

Born in Queens, N.Y., Brian moved to Marlboro, N.J., with his parents and sister when he was in middle school.

At Marlboro High School, a friend introduced him to Jodie Shorr, a classmate a year behind him.

'We were best friends first and then it went into something more than that,' Jodie said. 'He was with me at my senior prom. At the time, all of my friends were dating all of his friends. We were the only ones who stayed together.'

Then, Jodie went away to college at Arizona State. They couldn't stay apart long. Brian flew to Arizona and surprised her on Valentine's Day.

Not long after, Jodie transferred to Towson University in Maryland, closer to home.

'He would come out every weekend or I would go home. We each had said we could date other people, but we never really did.'

They were married in May 2000. In July of that year, Brian and Jodie moved into a new townhouse in Union, N.J.

'He put up lights, ceiling fans. He spackled. When my grandfather came to visit, he made a ramp for his wheelchair. He was very handy. He was able to do everything. He had every tool possible.

'He knew stereo equipment, he knew cars. He loved cars, nice cars. He could go to the dealership and sit in the cars for hours and drive me crazy. His ideal was to have a Mercedes someday.'

A fitness buff, Brian and Jodie met at the gym almost every night after work. He had started running in corporate races in Manhattan and was urging Jodie to try one.

'I was running my first race on the first weekend after Sept. 11,' she said. 'He was going to cheer me on. He was definitely helping me because I don't like to run.'

Jodie, an audiologist, was taking an Internet course for her doctorate study. The class was held on Monday nights.

But on Sept. 10, she forgot.

'Brian made me dinner. We talked to friends on the phone. We cleaned the house. We were able to spend the whole night together. I'm very thankful for that. Normally I would have been busy with school work.

'In the morning, I had a doctor appointment. The toilet was running. I said to Brian what a bad day it was because the toilet was running...'

Brian called Jodie twice. Had it been any morning but Tuesday, when she has late appointments, she would not have been home.

'He called after the first plane hit and he said he thought it was a helicopter, and he said they weren't letting them go. They told them it was safer inside. I hung up and I watched a few minutes later as the second plane hit. I was frantic.

'Brian called back a few minutes later. He said it was bad, he said it was time to start worrying. I could hear the fear and terror in his voice. He was panicking...I never asked where he was. I was screaming for him to get out of there.'

Jodie has since sold the townhouse that she and Brian shared and moved in with her parents. She has trouble remembering the sound of his voice without hearing the fear.

'I'm petrified to watch our wedding video,' she said. 'You feel a very big void in your heart. So many days, I would talk to him on the phone or through e-mail. He was just a wonderful guy. He was my best friend. We did everything together...It's very difficult to get through even an hour without a constant reminder.'

A few weeks ago, Jodie brought home a puppy, a Tibetan terrier.

She named her Mercedes.

John Ielpi

My DH and John went to school together. A teacher once told them they would amount to nothing. One was a fireman and one is a cop ... both are heros