9/11 Memorial & Museum exhibit honors those inspired to serve after attacks
"In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11 Inspired Service," a new exhibit, is set to open Sept. 12th at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in lower Manhattan. Credit: Morgan Campbell
Ray Pfeifer, a Levittown native and a 27-year veteran of the FDNY who battled cancer linked to his work at Ground Zero, made scores of visits to Washington before he died to advocate for those afflicted by 9/11-related illnesses.
"Ray was the face of 9/11 cancer ..." said his brother Joe Pfeifer, 58, of East Islip. "He went" to Congress "and chased those people down, chased those politicians in his wheelchair. He fought tooth and nail."
Ray Pfeifer's black FDNY bunker coat — its exterior weathered with time, signatures of his fellow advocates scrawled all over — stands as a symbol of the high-profile fight waged for healthcare for those sickened by illnesses from working at Ground Zero.
It's one of several artifacts set to go on display at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan as part of a new exhibit highlighting the legacy of service prompted by the terrorist attacks 25 years later.
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- "In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11 Inspired Service," is set to open Sept. 12 at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan.
- The exhibit highlights the legacy of service prompted by the terrorist attacks 25 years ago.
- It also pays tribute to those who died of 9/11-related illnesses after working at Ground Zero.
"In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11 Inspired Service," is set to open Sept. 12, the museum announced Monday.
Additionally, this year, for the first time, the remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero will feature a moment of silence for those who died of 9/11-related illnesses.
An FDNY bunker coat signed by 9/11 healthcare activists and on display at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum as part of the new exhibit. Credit: Morgan Campbell
The annual ceremony has, until this year, included six moments of silence — when hijackers hit each Twin Tower and the Pentagon near Washington, when each tower fell, and when the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
"Our goal is to facilitate a solemn, commemorative ceremony that honors those we've lost, pays tribute to the heroes of that day, and provides comfort and support to families and survivors," said Elizabeth Hillman, president and CEO of the memorial and museum.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001, including 500 from Long Island. The FDNY lost 343 firefighters that day and 23 NYPD officers died.
For about eight months after the attacks, Ray Pfeifer worked "the pile," digging through toxic debris in an attempt to find victims' bodies buried under the collapsed buildings.
In 2009, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.
In 2015, Congress passed James L. Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act, named to honor an NYPD officer who died of respiratory disease contracted at Ground Zero. The Zadroga Act extended healthcare coverage to those with 9/11 related diseases until 2090.
Pfeifer, along with comedian Jon Stewart, were at the forefront of the effort.
Pfeifer died in 2017.
"More than proud," Joe Pfeifer said of his brother. "He was a good guy. He always wanted to do the right thing."
When asked about how his brother would have felt seeing his jacket hanging in the museum, Pfeifer said: "Because he's a fireman's fireman, it wasn't about him. It was about everyone who died that day. He didn't want to be recognized."
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
