Firefighter Edward Day, 45, was known for putting smiley-face stickers on the helmets of grumpy firefighters. Joining the FDNY in 1988, Day was a third degree black belt in karate, a discipline he believed conferred “personal peace.” This was a principle he passed on when he taught karate to young children. It was not about “kicking butt,” but respect and discipline.

Day had a special fondness for learning new things. He’d pick up a book, study the issue, then dive right in and do something new, whether that was re-roofing his house or troubleshooting computers. He and his wife had a house full of pets: a dog, many cats, three snakes and a rabbit. On 9/11, Day’s wife was in Germany with her ailing father. It took days to get a flight home, and even then she could only fly into Montreal. Firefighters there drove her home to Staten Island when she arrived on the 15^th. The next day she learned her father had also passed on.