Pataki visits local firefighters

By Steven Gnagni
Managing Editor

New York Governor George E. Pataki made his first visit to Highbridge on Monday, September 9, 2002.

While here, he accepted a September 11 memorial montage created by a local firefighter and helped present money made from the sale of the montage to representatives of two firefighters’ unions.

Mr. Pataki arrived at the Engine 68/Ladder 49 firehouse around 12:30 p.m., and began with remarks about September 11 and firefighters that were lost.

“Perhaps the most important lesson we learned is who the true heroes are, and we can never thank them enough,” Mr. Pataki said.

None of Engine 68/Ladder 49’s firefighters died on September 11, but Freddy Ill Jr., who served as lieutenant of Engine 68 for a number of years and who was then captain of Ladder 2, died in the collapse of the twin towers. Pataki addressed Mr. Ill’s widow, who was present.

“Your courage, your strength, your loss is an incredible inspiration to us,” Mr. Pataki said.

Mr. Pataki then turned his focus to the montage, which was made by local firefighter Tom Gabay, who has worked for 18 years at Engine 68.

The montage includes photographs of the 343 firefighters lost on September 11, and a large image of Father Mychal Judge, chaplain of the New York Fire Department, hovering over ground zero. It also includes a prayer written by the chaplain, who died on September 11.

Gabay made the original, which hangs in the firehouse on Ogden Avenue, back in October, and then started making smaller ones for firefighters’ widows, orphans, and other firehouses.

“It is a magnificent tribute,” Mr. Pataki said. “This will hang proudly in our offices in the New York state capital.”

Though copies of the montage were given to firefighters’ widows and orphans, Gabay raised over $20,000 by selling the montage to others.

That money was presented on Monday to the Thomas Elsasser Fund, which supports widows and orphans of firefighters killed while off duty.

“A lot of money was going into different 9/11 funds,” Gabay explained. “They had a lot of money, and this one wasn’t getting any.”

Fellow firefighter Vinny Hogan, who is the chauffeur of Engine 68’s Ladder 49 truck, said the governor’s visit was a tribute to Gabay’s work and dedication. “He worked tirelessly,” Hogan said. “We answered the phone and took orders, but that money—it was really all Tommy Gabay.”