James Riches would have turned 30 on September 12th. He came from a family of uniform-wearers, either FDNY or NYPD. He himself spent eight years in the NYPD with Brooklyn South Narcotics before moving to the FDNY in 1999.
Some months after 9/11, Riches’ father, a retired FDNY firefighter, buried his mother in the morning and was at Ground Zero when they found his son’s body in the afternoon.
Apparently, even with a melodious name like “Calixto,” he preferred to be called “Charlie.” Calixto Anaya Jr. quit UPS for the FDNY so he could spend more time with his three young children. He loved the job. The camaraderie reminded him of his days in the Marines which he had also loved. He became a volunteer firefighter in his hometown, too, and kept a fire scanner at home. “He could be in the deepest sleep and as soon as that thing went off, he’d be up,” his wife said. “He loved the adrenaline.”
On November 2nd, Anaya would posthumously receive his diploma from the FDNY. His three children took the stage with his wife and his six-year-old son, dressed in his father’s cap, accepted his diploma.
Captain Joseph Farrelly, 47, had been promoted a year earlier but was not yet assigned a permanent firehouse, so he was covering for vacationing captains and on 9/11 was assigned to Engine 4. He liked working the night shift. On the 10th he lad left a note for his wife on her pillow saying “I can’t begin to tell you how much I love you. Words are inadequate. Already I can’t wait to get home. Hope you had a good time today. Love you. Joe.”
He had fallen for her the first moment he saw her when she was still 17 and he was 21. He waited a month until she was 18 to ask her out. Less than three years later they were married. Before they started their own family they spent seven years as foster parents to crack babies, taking care of them for six months until a permanent home was found. “He would talk to them and tell them not to worry, that they would have a good life.”
To the kids at Public School 3 on Staten Island he was “Fireman Joe.” This 22-year FDNY veteran loved kids and loved being a firefighter.
Eventually he had three children of his own: a daughter 11, and two sons 18 and 19.
Lt. Paul Mitchell, 46, was working at Engine 5 on 9/11. He had just finished his 24-hour shift and was on the FDR Drive headed home when he saw or heard about the attack and headed over to Ladder 110 in Brooklyn, his first firehouse where he began his career in 1987. By the time he got there, L110 was already dispatched, but he grabbed gear and hopped into an FDNY van headed to the scene.
Mitchell was a tall man, 6’4”, and nicknamed “Big Daddy.” He coached girls’ basketball, soccer and golf at the parish school even after his two daughters had graduated and headed on to college. “Everybody relied on “Big Daddy,” one of his closest friends said. “Even chiefs came to him for advice. Paul had an answer for everything.”
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Battalion Chief Matthew Lancelot Ryan, 53, had a 28-year career with the FDNY, rising through the ranks and being named Battalion Chief in 2000.
He loved hockey, he loved the radio and he loved reading the newspaper. When he went on vacation, he’d never stop delivery and read the whole pile of newspapers upon his return. Sunday nights were his favorite to indulge in all three. His wife remembered that “he could often be found sound asleep, around the predawn hours, the television and radio going full tilt and the newspapers piled up by his recliner.”
Ryan had three grown children: 26, 24 and 19.
Beginning sometime in August 2013, I started posting the Better Angels paintings onto the BetterAngels911 facebook page so the images could also be seen there. My thought was to post them roughly two per day, organized by company. In the beginning, I sometimes added a sentence or two that I learned either from the NFFF’s Fallen Heroes link or the New York Times profiles. As time passed, I found myself wanting to learn more about these men. Rereading WTC: In Their Own Words by Firehouse Magazine, I noted where reference was made to men among the 343. Just a little more research, then a little more, and so on until by the end of the series I was spending 10-12 hours every week researching and writing to keep up with the posted stories for each firefighter. (A note here, if any reader sees an error, I am happy to be corrected.)
Now all the paintings have been posted on the Facebook page, but the stories aren’t on this website. So beginning April 1st, 2014, and continuing for a year, I will be posting the men’s portraits and their stories – one firefighter per day – here on the Better Angels911 blog, (which will automatically post them to FB). Before then I have to go back through the first forty or so and research and write or rewrite paragraphs for them, too. As before, they will be organized by company, beginning with Division One, Battalion One. It will take a little more than a year because I will include some of the other stories and links I found along the way.
Please remember that the most enduring way you can leave a remembrance or comment about any of the firefighters is under their portrait on this website. (All comments pass through me for approval so no junk can be posted.)
Another year passes. We each mark the day and our memories in our own ways. My wish this day is simply to add my blessing to the tens of thousands of others that go out to all those who were lost to us on that day – and because of that day – and to the families and friends whose hearts will forever carry their loved one with them.
We are close to the season when most of the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs take place. These truly amazing events continue to grow in popularity. Memorial Stair Climbs were born on September 11, 1995, when five firefighters in Denver decided to climb 110 flights of stairs to honor the 343. (Around the same time, 25 miles away in Boulder, I had begun burning and preparing the blocks of wood to begin the Better Angels paintings.) In 2010 the Denver Climb partnered with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to create a template for other cities and fire departments to create their own Climbs. Since then Stair Climbs have spread across the country and around the world. These days the Denver Climb reaches its cap of 343 climbers within a couple hours of opening up its registration. The money raised from these events benefits the many support programs of the NFFF, including their continued support of the Counseling Services Unit of the FDNY. For info go to: 9-11stairclimb.com. Some Climbs also fund other charitable organizations that support firefighters and other first responders.
Some of the Climbs are open to the public, such as the Climb at the spectacular Red Rocks Amphitheater in Golden, west of Denver. For firefighters the Climbs (which are not a race!) are used as fitness training and high-rise fire incident training. In some Climbs, firefighters wear their full turnout gear. Other Climbs have been expanded to include police and EMTs to also honor the 60 police, 8 EMTs and other volunteer firefighters not members of the FDNY who died helping people on 9/11.
For all the Climbs, each firefighter is wearing a name tag for one of the 343. I am honored to be producing tags for six of the Climbs this year using the Better Angels paintings. I encourage any and all Climbers to go to betterangels911.com/the-343/ to leave a message under the firefighter painting whose name they carried to the top. (Find your firefighter, click on his picture to enlarge it, scroll down and write your remembrance.)
Even if you are not a Climber, you can volunteer to help, or donate to their coffers. It’s easy to find a Climb near you through the NFFF website or at 9-11stairclimb.com.
Thank you to Dallas, Charlotte, Tucson, San Antonio, Lancaster PA and Clayton MO for using Better Angels name tags this year. Their support helps me keep the paintings insured and safe. I will post pictures here and on the BetterAngels911 Facebook page when I get them.
Meanwhile, starting this weekend and continuing for many months, I will be posting the 343 paintings one, two and three at a time on the Better Angels Facebook page organized by unit and company, adding links where they exist to the websites and FB pages of the individual FDNY Fire Houses. I welcome feedback and comments from readers.
There is such tragic news in the fire service today with the loss of 19 wildland firefighters in Arizona. Devastating. Details are still to be learned so I won’t misinform here. My heart and best wishes go out to those families and that community. I am so so sorry for your loss.
(Thanks to Rhett from FireCritic.com for the picture.)
Today’s tragedy has undoubtably made many remember Storm King, almost 19 years ago. Certainly in Colorado they remember. I moved to Colorado that July 4th weekend of 1994 and it was on the 6th that the South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain took the lives of 14. The longer I lived in Colorado, the more obvious the very real danger of fire in the Mountain West became, and the more often I heard the words “Storm King.” And the more I admired ALL firefighters.
I had planned to write today to say I would soon be posting the paintings one, two and three at a time on the BetterAngels911 Facebook page, starting with Division 1. This will last through the year. I will be presenting them by unit and company this time, adding side links to Engine and Ladder company websites where they exist. But more on that in a day or two. Posting will begin on the July 4th.