THE 10TH BATTALION

September 11, 2001. No matter how the date is said, it remains ingrained in the memory of everyone who lived through that fateful day. They remember where they were, what they said, and how they felt. Before 8:46 a.m., it was another beautiful late-summer morning. After 8:46 a.m., everything had changed.

The Fire Department of the City of New York is one of our country’s most revered institutions. Tasked with protecting one of the world’s most famous cities, the FDNY has long represented what it means to put others before oneself.

From the towers of Park Avenue on the Gold Coast to the brownstones of Yorkville and the tenements of El Barrio, the companies of the 10th Battalion have repeatedly demonstrated courage in times of dire need. These companies include Engine 39 and Ladder 16, known as “The Gold Coast”; Engine 44, “Fighting Forty-Four”; Engine 22, Ladder 13, and Battalion 10, “The Pride of Yorkville”; and Engine 53 and Ladder 43, “El Barrio’s Bravest.”

On that bright blue morning in September, members of the 10th Battalion began their day without knowing that, for some, it would be their final run. When the attacks against New York City and our country began, the FDNY launched one of the greatest rescue efforts in history.

No number can fully capture how many lives were saved that day. At the center of the rescue effort were firefighters whose actions became stories of extraordinary courage, sacrifice, and service. Every firehouse in the 10th Battalion carries accounts of members who helped save civilians and fellow firefighters. Even amid unimaginable horror, they continued to push forward.

The day before the attacks, FDNY Chaplain Father Mychal Judge delivered what would become his final homily at Engine 73:

“Good days. Bad days. Up days. Down days. You do what God has called you to do. You show up. You put one foot in front of the other. You get on the rig and go out and do the job.”

The members of the 10th Battalion embodied those words before and during September 11, 2001. The firefighters who carry their legacy continue to embody them today.

This tribute was developed by Lt. Chris Otten and Devin Robinson. For Lt. Otten, its meaning is deeply personal. He lost his father on September 11, and his perspective helped shape this remembrance of the 10th Battalion and the legacy its members left behind.

On the 25th anniversary of September 11, we honor the members of the 10th Battalion and everyone lost that day. We remember the resolve they showed in the face of unimaginable adversity. We honor the firefighting traditions they carried and passed on to those who followed them.

Their courage will always be remembered. Their legacy will always endure.

We will never forget.