Stranded Statue Becomes Midtown’s 9/11 Icon

A bronze statue of a kneeling firefighter found its permanent home on Thursday outside the Emigrant Savings Bank on East 43rd Street.
Stranded Statue Becomes Midtown’s 9/11 Icon
Ivan Pentchoukov
9/22/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/_MG_3274.JPG" alt="A woman reads a commemoration plaque behind 'The Kneeling Firefighter' statue outside the Emigrant Savings Bank in Midtown Manhattan on Sept. 22. (Ivan Pentchoukov/The Epoch Times)" title="A woman reads a commemoration plaque behind 'The Kneeling Firefighter' statue outside the Emigrant Savings Bank in Midtown Manhattan on Sept. 22. (Ivan Pentchoukov/The Epoch Times)" width="575" class="size-medium wp-image-1797367"/></a>
A woman reads a commemoration plaque behind 'The Kneeling Firefighter' statue outside the Emigrant Savings Bank in Midtown Manhattan on Sept. 22. (Ivan Pentchoukov/The Epoch Times)

 

NEW YORK—A bronze statue of a kneeling firefighter found its permanent home on Thursday outside the Emigrant Savings Bank on East 43rd Street. The 6-foot-tall statue was commissioned by the Missouri firefighters’ association and cast in Parma, Italy. The statue landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sept. 9, 2001. Before it left for its destination at Kingdom City, Mo., the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred, stranding the statue in New York when all air travel was suspended.

Matthews International Corporation of Pittsburgh, the statue’s maker, offered the statue to the Federal Law Enforcement Federation as a gift to all New Yorkers and a memorial to the fallen firefighters.

“Among the bravest of the brave that day were the firefighters that raced to the rescue and all the emergency responders went above and beyond. Some made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Howard P. Milstein, chairman and CEO of Emigrant Bank. “That’s why we’re here today—just after the 10th anniversary of 9/11—and dedicating this poignant sculpture: ‘The Kneeling Fireman.’”

The statue was initially housed outside Milford Plaza Hotel, owned by the Milstein family. Milstein is one of the biggest donors to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. In the years following the terrorist attacks he commissioned thousands of statues made from World Trade Center steel for every victim’s family.

“We can never do enough, say enough, or memorialize enough the men and women of the FDNY,” said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scopetta.

The FDNY Emerald Society Pipe and Drum band opened and closed the ceremony. Milstein was visibly moved when the band performed a piece to commemorate the statue. The city’s fire department lost 343 firefighters in a matter of hours on 9/11. The ‘Kneeling Firefighter’ is the only 9/11 memorial in Midtown.

“When the firefighters association of Missouri commissioned this statue they never thought it would be needed to help the healing in New York City. But they knew it would, so they donated this symbol of compassion not only to the first responders, but to help all the residents of New York. We all share the pain and we all share the healing,” said Michael A. Fedorko, superintendent of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police.

 

Ivan is the national editor of The Epoch Times. He has reported for The Epoch Times on a variety of topics since 2011.
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