Westchester Honors Eight First Responders Who Died of 9/11-Related Illnesses
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Daniel J. Raftery was chief of the Greenville Fire District in Greenburgh when his department got the call on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, to respond to the World Trade Center.
Despite arriving before the collapse of the first tower, Raftery survived that day. But the time spent working on the cleanup at Ground Zero took its toll.
On Father’s Day, Raftery, 74, a Hartsdale resident, succumbed to brain cancer about two years after being diagnosed.
Despite the tragic outcome, his wife Nancy, said he never regretted his decision to help his fellow first responders.
“He would have never second-guessed,” Nancy Raftery said. “He would go there tomorrow.”
Raftery was one of eight first responders who died from 9/11-related illness during the past year who lived or worked in the county. They were honored during Tuesday’s interfaith prayer vigil at the 9/11 First Responders Memorial at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla.
His name and the names of the seven others – John G. Daly Jr. of the Scarsdale Fire Department, Detective William J. Keating of the NYPD, construction worker Ronald J. Pennella, John Lunapiena of the state Department of Transportation, Ronald N. LaManna of the Yonkers Fire Department, Mount Vernon firefighter George D. Ewell Jr. and state police Senior Investigator George L. Johansen – have been engraved into one of two new granite monuments at the memorial
There are now 81 first responders who have died from 9/11-related illnesses with Westchester connections. When the monument was unveiled during the 9/11 memorial ceremony in 2021, it was introduced with 41 names.
County Executive George Latimer said that there will undoubtedly be more names added to the list in the years ahead.
“Together we pledge to never forget, to remember the names of the fallen and to carry forward their legacy in our hearts,” Latimer said.
The vigil, which took place the day before the annual 9/11 memorial ceremony, featured local religious leaders offering words of comfort and compassion to the family members of the eight latest victims. Imam Shaffieq Chace of the Islamic Center of New Rochelle remarked that while all the victims of the attack had different birth dates, it was striking that they all were lost on the same day.
“We should make sure that every child has the right to live to be an adult, to graduate, to have an education, to marry, to have children, and no adult should be denied the right to see that,” Chace said.
Mark McLean, a member of the pastoral team at Generations Church and the president of the Inter-Religious Coalition of New Rochelle, said it is crucial for a society to remember those lost, including those who ultimately sacrificed their lives after the attacks.
“So when we remember the names and the sacrifice of these first responders, we reaffirm our own humanity,” McLean said. “We honor what is good in our community.”
Liz Keating, the wife of the NYPD detective who was one of the additional eight first responders added to the memorial this year, applauded the county for remembering their loved ones. It’s important for people to have a place to honor their service and to never forget their service.
“He was a great guy,” Keating said. “He loved his job. He was a dedicated police officer, a great father, husband, son, brother, just an all-around good guy.”
Latimer said it is imperative that the rest of society pause to remember those who died on 9/11 and those who have departed before their time.
“They should be with us to see their grandchildren, and they should be with us to see their great-grandchildren, and they should be with us to see their sports team win a championship,” he said. “But they’re not. So we do this because this is what we do in the secular world. We remember with monuments and earthly expression of what we think creates some sense of immortality. That person hasn’t died as long as we can think of them and love them.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
