June 26, 2003
Families and colleagues gather
A memorial at Emergency Service Unit headquarters on East 21st Street honored Patrick O’Connor, Frank LaSala and Brian McDonnell. Hundreds gathered for the unveiling, including families, fellow officers and neighbors.
These were three officers lost in different years and circumstances. McDonnell died during the September 11 rescue effort; the memorial also preserved the service of O’Connor and LaSala for future generations of emergency officers.
After the unveiling, a luncheon at the Church of the Epiphany welcomed more than 150 guests. Arlene Harrison, Kathleen Scupp, Nancy Greenberg and Katherine English worked with the church’s staff to help make it happen.
The Gramercy Park Block Association’s contribution was part of a larger effort by the officers, their families, the church and neighborhood supporters. The Block Association’s close relationship with Truck 1 made being present and helping a natural extension of its earlier relief work.
The archive preserves both the Block Association’s invitation for June 26 and the July 3 newspaper account reporting the ceremony and luncheon. Together they establish the date and what actually took place.
The original photographs accompany this account. Related stories follow the 2001 family benefit and the E-MEN film project, which preserved colleagues’ memories for families.
